MALACAÑANG

MANILA

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 49

DECREE ON THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL

PROPERTY

WHEREAS, tremendous strides in science and technology have made necessary

updating of the Copyright Law to give fuller protection to intellectual property and to
encourage arts and letters, as well as stimulates scientific research and invention, at the
same time safeguard the public’s right to cultural information;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue

of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed
Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21,
1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby, order
and make as part of the law of the land the following measure:

CHAPTER 1–Preliminary Provision

Section 1. This Decree shall be known as the “Decree on Intellectual Property.”

Section 2. The Rights granted by this Decree shall, from the moment of creation, subsist
with respect to any of the following classes of works:

(A) Books, including composite and encyclopedic works, manuscripts, directories, and
gazetteers;

(B) Periodicals, including pamphlets and newspapers;

(C) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral delivery;

(D) Letters;

(E) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic works and

entertainments in dumb shows, the acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise;

(F) Musical compositions, with or without words;

(G) Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography, and other
works of art; models or designs for works of art;

(H) Reproductions of a work of art;

(I) Original ornamental designs or models for articles of manufacture, whether or not
patentable, and other works of applied art;
(J) Maps, plans, sketches, and charts;

(K) Drawings, or plastic works of a scientific or technical character;

(L) Photographic works and works produced by a process analogous to photography;

lantern slides;

(M) Cinematographic works and works produced by a process analogous to

cinematography or any process for making audio-visual recordings;

(N) Computer programs;

(O) Prints, pictorial, illustration, advertising copies, labels, tags, and box wraps;

(P) Dramatization, translations, adaptations, abridgements, arrangements and other

alterations of literary, musical or artistic works or of works of the Philippine Government
as herein defined, which shall be protected as provided in Section 8 of this Decree.

(Q) Collection of literary, scholarly, or artistic works or of works referred to in Section 9 of

this Decree which by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents constitute
intellectual creations, the same to be protected as such in accordance with Section 8 of
this Decree.

(R) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.

Section 3. The rights granted by this Decree shall not be lost except in the number
specifically provided herein. Neither shall they be subject to levy and attachment while in
the possession of the creator or his heirs.

Section 4. Nothing in this Decree shall be deemed to alter or in any manner impair any
other right or remedy of the persons protected by its provisions.

CHAPTER II.–Copyright

Article 1.–Scope and beneficiaries of copyright.

Section 5. Copyright shall consist in the exclusive right;

(A) To print, reprint, publish, copy, distribute, multiply, sell, and make photographs, photo-
engravings, and pictorial illustrations of the works;

(B) To make any translation or other version or extracts or arrangements or adaptations

thereof; to dramatize it if it be a non-dramatic work; to convert it into a non-dramatic work
if it be a drama; to complete or execute if it be a model or design;
(C) To exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or reproduce, the work in any manner or by
any method whatever for profit or otherwise; it not reproduced in copies for sale, to sell
any manuscript or any record whatsoever thereof;

(D) To make any other use or disposition of the work consistent with the laws of the land.

Section 6. The creator or his heirs or assigns shall own the copyright in any of the works
mentioned in Section 2 of this Decree. If the works is produced by two or more persons,
the copyright shall belong to them jointly and their respective rights thereto shall be
governed by the Rules of the Civil Code on co-ownership.

If the work in which copyright subsists was made during and in the course of the
employment of the creator, the copyright shall belong to;

(A) The employee, if the creation of the object of copyright is not a part of his regular
duties even if the employee uses the time facilities and materials of the employer.

(B) The employer, if the work is the result of the performance of his regularly assigned
duties, unless there is an agreement, expressed or implied, to the contrary.

Where the work is commissioned by a person who is not the employer of the creator and
who pays or agrees to pay for it and the work is made in pursuance of the commission,
the person who so commissioned the work shall have ownership of it but the copyright
thereto shall belong joint ownership to him and the creator, unless there is a stipulation
to the contrary.

The creators of a cinematographic or analogous work are the producer, the author of the
scenario, the composer of the music, the film director, the photographic director, and the
author of the work adapted. However, subject to contrary or other stipulation among the
creators, the producer shall exercise the copyright to an extent required for the exhibition
of the work in any manner, except for the right to collect performing fees for the musical
compositions, with or without words, which may be incorporated into the work.

The copyright in letters shall belong to the writer, subject to the provisions of Article 723
of the Civil Code.

Section 7. For purposes of this Decree, articles and other writings published without the
names of the authors or under pseudonyms are considered as the property of the
publishers, unless the contrary appears.

Section 8. The works referred to in subsections (P) and (O) of Section 2 of this Decree
shall, when produced with the consent of the creator or proprietor of the original works on
which they are based, be protected as new works; however, such new works shall not
affect the force of any subsisting copyright upon the original works employed or any part
thereof, or be construed to imply an exclusive right to such use of the original works, or
to secure or extend copyright in such original works.
Section 9. No copy shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines.
However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created
shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may,
among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. No prior approval or
condition shall be required for the use for any purpose of statutes, rules and regulations,
and speeches, lecturers, sermons, addresses, and dissertations pronounced, read or
rendered in courts of justice before administrative agencies, in deliberate assemblies, and
in meetings of public character.

A “Work of the Government of the Philippines” is a work created by any officer or

employee of the Philippine Government or any of its subdivisions and instrumentalities,
including government owned or controlled corporations as a part of his regularly
prescribed official duties.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Government is not precluded from receiving
and holding copyright transferred to it by assignment, bequests or otherwise; nor shall
publication or republication by the Government in a public document of any work in which
copyright is subsisting be taken to cause any abridgment or annulment of the copyright
or to authorize any use of appropriation of such work without the consent of the copyright
proprietor.

Article II.–Limitations on copyright.

Section 10. When a work has been lawfully made accessible to the public, the author
shall not be entitled to prohibit;

1. Its recitation or performance (A) if done privately and free of charge; of (B) if made for
strictly charitable or religious institution or society.

2. Reproductions, translations and adaptations thereof destined exclusively for personal

and private use.

Section 11. To an extend compatible with fair practice and justified by the scientific,
critical, informatory or educational purpose, it shall be permissible to make quotations or
excerpts from a work already lawfully made accessible to the public. Such quotations may
be utilized in their original form or in translation.

News items, editorials, and articles on current political, social, economic, scientific or
religious topic may be reproduced by the press or broadcast, unless they contain or are
accompanied by a notice that their reproduction or publication is reserved. In case of
musical works, parts of little extent may also be reproduced.

Quotations and excerpts as well as reproduction shall always be accompanied by an

acknowledgment of the source and name of the author. If his name appears thereon.
Section 12. In reports of a current event by means of photography, cinematography or
broadcasting, literary, scientific or artistic works which can be seen or heard in the course
of said event may be reproduced and communicated to the public to the extent necessary
for the purpose.

Section 13. Libraries, public archives and museums have the right, subject to the
conditions specified in the succeeding paragraphs, to produce for purposes of their
activities by photographic means, and without the consent of the caretaker or proprietor,
copies of a literary or artistic work.

Materials forming part of the collections mentioned in the preceding paragraph which, by
reason of their fragile character reproduced by photography for the purpose of loans.
Nevertheless, except in cases where special reasons justify it, not more than two copies
may be made.

It is equally permissible to make, by means of photography, reproduction of isolated

articles contained in composite works, as well as brief portions of other published works,
in order to supply them, when this is considered expedient, to persons requesting their
loan for purposes of research or study, instead of lending the volumes or booklets which
contain them. Each person seeking loan may only receive one copy of each article or
each portion of a work.

When a copy of a work is found to be incomplete, the missing portions may be reproduced
by means of photography, provided they only constitute a minor portion of the total work.
Nevertheless, it shall not be permitted to produce a volume of a work published in several
volumes or to produce missing tomes or part of magazines or similar works, unless the
volume, tome of part is out of stock with booksellers, the printing house and the publisher.

Every library which, by law, is entitled to receive one or two copies of a printed work shall
be entitled, when special reasons so require, to reproduce, by means of photography or
process analogous to photography, a copy of a published work, the acquisition of which
is considered necessary for the collections of the library, but which is out of stock with
booksellers, the printing house and the publisher.

A work belonging to the collections mentioned in the first paragraph of this section which
has not been disseminated may not be reproduced or published without the consent of
the creator or proprietor. However, such work may be reproduced for purposes of
preservation.

Section 14. If, after the expiration of five years from the date of the first publication of a
writing, a translation of such writings has not been published in the national or other local
language, as the case may be, the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization,
any citizen may obtain a non- exclusive license from the Director of the National Library,
to translate the work and publish the work so translated in the national or other local
language in which it has not been published; Provided, That such citizen establishes
either that he has requested, and been denied, authorization by the proprietor of the right
to make and publish the translation, or that, after due diligence on his part, he was unable
to find the owner of the right. A license may also be granted on the same conditions if all
previous editions of a translation in such language are out of print. In both cases the terms
and conditions of the license, including the royalties of the author or proprietor of the
original work, shall be stated therein.

If the owner of the right of translation cannot be found, then the applicant for a license
shall send copies of his application to the purchaser whose name appears on the work,
and, if the nationality of the owner of the right of translation is known, to the diplomatic or
consular representative of the state of which such owner is a national, or to the
organization which may have been designated by the government of that state. The
license shall not be granted before the expiration of two months from the date of the
dispatch of the copies of the application. Neither shall it be granted when the author has
withdrawn from circulation all copies of the work.

The original title and the name of the author of the work shall be printed on all copies of
the published translation.

Article III.–Transfer of work and copyright

Section 15. The copyright may, by gift, inheritance or otherwise, be transferred or

assigned in whole or in part. Such transfer or assignment shall entitle the transferee or
assignee to all rights and remedies which the transferer or assignor had with respect to
the copyright.

The copyright is not deemed transferred or assigned inter vivos in whole or in part, unless
there is a written indication that such is the intention.

The submission of a literary, photographic or artistic work to a newspaper, magazine or

periodical for publication shall constitute only a license to make a single publication unless
a greater right is expressly granted.

Section 16. The copyright is distinct from the property in the material object to it.
Consequently, the transfer or assignment of the copyright shall not itself constitute a
transfer of the material object. Nor shall a transfer or assignment of the sole copy or of
one or several copies of the work imply transfer or assignment of the copyright.

Section 17. An assignment or transfer inter vivos, or a license, must be in writing,

acknowledged before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths or
perform notarial acts and certified under the hand and seal of the notary or other officer.

This section and section 19 shall not apply to cases covered by the last paragraph of
section 15 of this Decree.
Section 18. If two or more persons jointly own a copyright or any part thereof, neither of
the owners shall be entitled to grant license without the consent of the other owner or
owners.

Section 19. Every assignment, license or other instrument relating to any right, title or
interest in a copyright and to the work subject to it shall be filed in duplicate with the
National Library upon payment of the prescribed fee for registration in books and records
kept for the purpose. Upon recording, a copy of the instrument shall be returned to the
sender with a notation of the fact of record. Notice of the record shall be published in the
Official Gazette.

Such instrumentalities shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee

for valuable consideration and without notice unless it is recorded in the library prior to
the subsequent purchase or mortgage.

Section 20. When the creator of a work in which copy right is subsisting dies, it shall be
the duty of his heirs or assigns to file with the National Library for registration a written
notice under oath of the date of the creator’s death. Until this is complied with, the
limitation of remedies established in Section 26 of this Decree shall be enforced.

Article IV.–Duration of copyright

Section 21. The copyright conferred by this Decree shall endure during the lifetime of the
creator and for fifty years after his death. In case of works of joint creation, the period of
fifty years shall be counted from the death of the last surviving co-creator.

Section 22. In case of anonymous and pseudonymous works, the copyright shall last
until the end of fifty years following the date of their first publication. However, when the
pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to his identity, or if the author of
anonymous or pseudonymous work discloses his identity during the period mentioned in
this section, the term of the protection shall be that fixed in the next preceding section.

Section 23. In the case posthumous works which do not fall within the categories of the
works referred to in the next two preceding sections, the terms of protection afforded to
the heirs or assignees of the creator shall end at the expiration of fifty years after his death.

Section 24. Irrespective of the provisions of the foregoing sections of this article, the term
shall be thirty years in the case of: (A) periodicals and newspapers, provided that material
contained therein in which an independent copyright may be deemed to subsist shall be
accorded the length or protection appropriate to it; (B) works of applied art; (C)
cinematographic or photographic works as well as those produced or any process
analogous to cinematography or photography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings.

Section 25. The term of protection subsequent to the death of the creator provided in
Section 21 and 23 and the terms provided in Sections 22 and 24 shall run from the date
of his death or of publication, but such terms shall always be deemed to begin on the first
day of January of the year following the event which gives rise to them.

Article V.–Deposit and notice

Section 26. After the first public dissemination or performance by authority of the
copyright owner of a work falling under subsections (A), (B), (C) and (D) of Section 2 of
this Decree, there shall, within three weeks, be registered and deposited with the National
Library, by personal delivery or by registered mail, two complete copies or reproductions
of the work in such form as the Director of said library may prescribe. A certificate of
registration and deposit for which the prescribed fee shall be collected. If, within three
weeks after receipt by the copyright owner of a written demand from the director for such
deposit, the required copies or reproductions are not delivered and the fee is not paid, the
copyright owner shall be liable to pay to the National Library the amount of the retail price
of the best edition of the work.

With or without a demand from the director, a copyright owner who has not made such
deposit shall not be entitled to recover damages in an infringement suit and shall be
limited to the other remedies specified in Section 23 of this Decree.

Section 27. Each copy of a work published or offered for sale shall contain a notice
bearing the name of the copyright owner, the year of its first publication, and, in copies
produced after the creator’s death, the year of such death.

Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall result in the limitation of
remedies in the next preceding section.

Article VI.–Infringement

Section 28. Any person infringing a copyright shall be liable:

(A) To an injunction restraining such infringement.

(B) To pay to the copyright proprietor or his assigns or heirs such actual damages as he
may have due to the infringement as well as the profits the infringor may have made due
to such infringement, and in providing profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove sales
only and the defendant shall be required to prove every element of cost which he claims,
or, in lieu of actual damages and profits, such damages which to the court shall appear
to be just and which shall not be less than the sum of One Thousand Pesos, and shall
not be regarded as penalty.

(C) To deliver under oath, for impounding during the pendency of the action, upon such
terms and conditions as the court may prescribe, all articles alleged to infringe a copyright.

(D) To deliver under oath for destruction all infringing copies of devices, as well as all
plates, molds, or other means for making such infringing copies as the court may order.
(E) To such other terms and conditions, including the payment or moral and exemplary
damages, which the court may deem proper, wise and equitable.

Section 29. Any person infringing any copyright secured by this Decree or aiding or
abetting such infringement shall be deemed guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment
not exceeding one year or by fine not less than Two Hundred Pesos or more than Two
Thousand Pesos or both, in the discretion of the court.

Section 30. Unless authorized by the copyright proprietor concerned, importation into the
Philippines of any piratical copies or likeness of any work in which Philippine copyright
subsists is prohibited, except when imported under the following circumstances;

First. When Copies of the work are not available in the Philippines and:

(A) Not more than one copy at one time is imported for strictly individual use only; or

(B) The importation is by authority of and for the use of the Philippine Government; or

(C) The importation, consisting of not more than three such copies of likeness in any one
invoice, is not for sale but for the use only of any religious, charitable, or educational
society or institution duly incorporated or registered, or is for the encouragement of the
fine arts, or for any state school, college, university, or free public library in the Philippines.

Second. When such copies from parts of libraries and personal baggage belonging to
persons or families arriving from foreign countries and are not intended for sale provided
such copies do not exceed three.

Copies imported as allowed by this Section may not lawfully be used in any way to violate
the rights of the proprietor of Philippine copyright or annul or limit the protection secured
by this Decree, and such unlawful use shall be deemed an infringement and shall be
punishable as such without prejudice to the proprietors right of action.

The Commissioner of Customs, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Finance, is

hereby empowered to make rules and regulations for preventing the importation of articles
the importation of which is prohibited under this Section and for seizing and condemning
and disposing of the same in case they are discovered after they have been imported.

CHAPTER III.–Right to Proceeds in subsequent transfers

Section 31. In every sale or lease of an original work of painting or sculpture or of the
original manuscript of a writer or composer, subsequent to the first disposal thereof by
the creator, the creator or his heirs shall have an inalienable right to participate in the
gross proceeds of the sale or lease to the extent of five per centum (5%).

This right shall exist during the lifetime of the creator and for fifty years after his death.
Section 32. As a condition precedent to making a claim to the right established in the
preceding section for any work mentioned therein, the work must be registered in the
National Library where a separate register shall be kept for this purpose.

The creator or his heirs designate a society of artists, writers or composers as agency to
claim the right in his or their behalf. In such case, the society shall forward the proceeds
to the creator or his heirs upon their demand or at the end of every quarter of each
calendar year.

Section 33. The provisions of this Chapter shall not supply to prints, etchings, engravings,
works of applied art, or works of similar kind wherein the creator primarily derives gain
from the proceeds of reproduction.

CHAPTER IV.–Moral Rights

Section 34. Independently of the rights by Chapters II and III of this Decree or the grant
of an assignment or license with respect to any of such rights, a creator shall have the
right:

(A) To make alterations of his work prior to, or to withhold it from, publication;

(B) To require that the authorship of the works be attributed to him;

(C) To object to any alteration of his work which is prejudicial to his reputation;

(D) To restrain the use of his name with respect to any work not of his own creation or in
a distorted version of his work.

Section 35. A creator cannot be compelled to perform his contract to create a work or for
the publication of his work already in existence. However, he may be held liable for
damages for breach of such a contract.

Section 36. A creator may assign or waive his rights mentioned in Section 34 of this
Decree by a written instrument expressly so stating, but no such assignment shall be valid
where its effects is to permit another:

(A) To use the name of the creator, or the title of his work, or otherwise to make use of
his reputation with respect to any version or adaptation of his work which, because of
alterations therein, would substantially tend to injure the literary or artistic reputation of
the author; or

(B) To use the name of the creator with respect to a work he did not create.

Section 37. When a creator contributes to a collective work, like a newspaper or an

encyclopedia, his right to have his contribution attributed to him is deemed waived unless
he expressly reserves it.
Section 38. In the absence of a special contract at the time a creator licenses or permits
another to use his work, the necessary editing, arranging or adaptation of such work, for
publication, broadcast, use in a motion picture, dramatization, or mechanical or electrical
reproduction in accordance with the reasonable and customary standards or
requirements of the medium in which the work is to be used, shall not be deemed to
contravene the creator’s rights secured by this chapter. Nor shall complete destruction of
a work unconditionally transferred by the creator be deemed to violate such rights.

Section 39. The rights of a creator under this chapter shall be perpetual and
imprescriptible. The person or persons to be charged with the posthumous enforcement
of these rights shall be named in a writing to be filed with the National Library. In default
of such person or persons, such enforcement shall devolve upon either the creator’s heirs
or the Director of the National Library acting in behalf of the heirs.

The persons named by the creator in accordance with the foregoing paragraph or, in their
absence, the creator’s heirs shall have power to make any assignment or license of the
rights provided in this chapter which would be within the power of the creator had he lived.
If there are no heirs, the Director of the National Library shall exercise the power.

For purposes of this Section, “Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, corporation,
association, or society. The Director of the National Library may prescribe reasonable
fees to be charged for his services in the application of provisions of this Section.

Section 40. Violation of any of the rights conferred by this chapter shall entitle those
charged with their enforcement to the same rights and remedies available to a copyright
owner. In addition, damages which may be availed of under the Civil Code may also be
recovered. Any damages recovered after the creator’s death shall be held in trust for and
remitted to his heirs.

CHAPTER V.–Rights of Performers, Producers of sounds, recordings and broadcasting

organizations

Article I.–Definition of Terms

Section 41. As used in this chapter:

(A) “Performers” mean actors, singers, musicians, dancers, and other persons who act,
sing, deliver, declaim, play in, or otherwise perform literary or artistic work.

(B) “Sound Recording” means any exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance
or of other sound.

(C) “Producer of sound records” means the person who, or the legal entity which, first
fixes a performance or other sounds.
(D) “Publication” means the issue of offering to the public of copies of a sound recording
in reasonable quantity.

(E) “Reproduction” means the making of a copy or copies of a recording.

(F) “Broadcasting” means the transmission by wireless means for public reception of
sounds or of images and sound.

(G) “Broadcasting organization” shall include a sole proprietorship duly authorized to

engage in broadcasting.

Article II.–Performers

Section 42. Performers shall have the exclusive right:

(A) To record or authorize the recording of their performance on any recording apparatus
for image and/or sound.

(B) To authorize the broadcasting and the communication to the public of their
performance.

(C) To prohibit the reproduction of a recording of their performance; (i) if the original
recording itself was made without their consent; (ii) if the reproduction is made for the
purposes different from those for which the performers gave their consent; or (iii) If the
original recording was made for any of the purposes mentioned in Section 44 of the
reproduction is made for a different purpose.

Section 43. Performers shall have the right to decide whether their names will be
mentioned when their performance is recorded or broadcast. The provisions of chapter
IV shall apply to them.

Section 44. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 43 of this Decree, performers may
not object to the recording: (A) of parts of their performance to be used in connection with
the reporting of current events, or (B) of the entirety therefor which shall be used solely
for the purpose of teaching or scientific research. The provisions of section 12 of this
Decree shall also apply to performances. However, the provisions of this Section shall be
without prejudice to those of the next preceding section.

Section 45. For infringement of any of their rights, performers shall be entitled to;

(A) An injunction restraining such infringement;

(B) To recover such damages as may be recoverable under the Civil Code, or, in lieu
thereof, such damages which to the court shall appear just and which shall not be less
than Three Hundred Pesos.
(C) To the remedies provided in subsections (C) and (D) of Section 28 of this Decree but
with respect only to recordings of their performances and devises for making such
recordings.

Article III.–Producers of sound recordings.–

Section 46. Producers of sound recordings shall have the exclusive right to authorize or
prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their recordings and the placing of these
reproductions in the market.

Section 47. When a sound recording is used with the intention of making or enhancing
profit, the producer of the recording has the right to a fair remuneration from the user.

Section 48. The producer of a sound recording may also forbid any use of this recording
which would cause serious and unwarranted damage to his industrial interests.

Section 49. There shall be indicated in each copy of a sound recording the title of the
work recorded, the name of the author and, subject to section 43 of this Decree of the
principal performers and the date of manufacture.

Section 50. Within one month after its manufacture, two copies of a sound recording shall
be deposited, by personal delivery or by mail, with the National Library. Upon such deposit,
the Director shall issue to the producer a certificate under the seal of the library indicating
the fact and date of such deposit. This certificate shall constitute a prima facie evidence
of the facts stated therein.

Article IV.–Broadcasting organizations

Section 52. Broadcasting organizations shall enjoy the exclusive right:

(A) To relay by wire or rebroadcast their broadcasts.

(B) To record in any manner, including the making of cinematographic films or the use of
video tape, their broadcasts for the purpose of making profit;

(C) To use such records for fresh transmissions or for fresh recording.

Section 53. The provisions of immediately preceding section shall not include the right to
prohibit recording or broadcasts for strictly private use or solely for the purpose of teaching
or scientific research.

Section 54. A broadcasting organization, when any of its rights secured herein is
infringed, shall be entitled:

(A) To have such infringement enjoined.

(B) To recover such damages as may be awarded under the Civil Code.

(C) The remedies provided in subsections (C) and (D) of section 28 of this Decree but
with respect only to unauthorized recordings of its broadcasts and devices for making
such recordings.

Article V.–Term of Protection

Section 55. The rights granted under this chapter shall expire after twenty years from the
end of the year in which:

(A) The performance took place for performances not incorporated in recordings;

(B) The recording was made for sound or image and sound recordings and for
performances incorporated therein;

Article VI.–Penalty

Section 56. The prohibition and penalties provided in section 29 shall apply to
infringement of any of the rights granted in this chapter.

CHAPTER VII.–Institution of actions and proceedings

Section 57. All actions, suits and proceedings shall, regardless of the amount involved,
be originally cognizable by Courts of First Instance.

Section 58. No damages may be recovered under this Decree after four years from the
time the cause of action arose.

Section 59. Appeals shall be governed by the Rules of Court.

CHAPTER VIII.–Miscellaneous provisions

Section 60. All copies deposited and instruments in writing filed with the National Library
in accordance with the provisions of this Decree shall become the property of the
Government.

Section 61. The section or divisions of the National Library charged with receiving copies
and instruments deposited and with keeping records required under this Decree and
everything in it shall be opened to public inspection subject to such safeguards and
regulations as may be prescribed by director of the library.

Section 62. The National Library shall collect the following fees:

(A) For the issuance of a certificate of deposit of copies of a work, five pesos;
(B) For each assignment, license, notice or other written instrument filed, ten pesos;

(C) For other services, in such amount as he may fix by regulation, provided, that single
fee shall exceed ten pesos.

CHAPTER IX.–Final Provisions

Section 63. The provisions of this Decree shall apply to works in which copyright
protection obtained prior to the effectivity of this Decree is subsisting: Provided, That the
application of this Decree shall not result in the diminution of such protection.

Section 64. Act No. 3134, or otherwise known as the “Copyright Law of the Philippine
Islands”, and all laws or provisions of law, orders or regulations inconsistent herewith are
hereby repealed.

This Decree shall take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette.

Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen
hundred and seventy-two.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR

Executive Secretary

Source: Malacañang Records Office