S.

No 3529
H. No. 5699

~Cfluhlir of tqc Jqiliflflincs

Q1ou~rtss of f4:e '4ilippiu:es

,plKdro ,plK~nil&

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Mo~day, the twenty-seventh

day of July, two thousand nine .

•
[ REPUBLIC ACT No. 10088)
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT AND PENALIZE THE
UNAUTHORIZED USE, POSSESSION AND/OR
CONTROL OF AUDIOVISUAL RECORDING DEVICES
FOR THE UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING OF
CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILMS AND OTHER
AUDIOVISUAL WORKS AND/OR THEIR
SOUNDTRACKS IN AN EXHIBITION FACILITY,
PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as

the "Anti-Camcording Act of 2010".
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SEC. 2. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act:

(a) "Audiovisual work" means a work that consists of a

series of related images which are intrinsically intended to be
shown by the use of machines or devices such as projectors,
viewers or electronic equipment, together with accompanying
sounds, if any, regardless of the nature of the material objects,
such as films or tapes, in which the works are embodied.

(b) "Audiovisual recording device" means a digital or

analog photographic or video camera, or any other technology
or device capable of enabling the recording or transmlssion of
a cinematographic film or other audiovisual work, or any part
thereof, regardless of whether audiovisual recording is the sole
or primary purpose of the device.

(c) "Authorized person" mean" the members of the

Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI) andlor any other person duly authorized
by the same to exercise powers conferred upon by this Act.

(d) "Camcording" means any of the unlawful acts

enumerated under Section 3 of this Act.

(e) "Cinematographic film" means any audiovisual work

consisting of a series of related images which, when shown
in succession, impart an impression of motion, together with
accompanying sounds, if any.

(I) "Copy" means any article or thing in which the visual

images or sounds comprised in any cinematographic film or
audiovisual work are embodied, and includes the making of
a copy which is in electronic format or transient or incidental
to some other use thereof.

(g) "Copyright owner" means anyone who has the

exclusive rights comprised in a copyright as provided under
Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual
Property Code of the Philippines and related international
treaties, conventions or agreements to which the Republic of
the Philippines is a party.
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(h) "Exclusive licensee" means a licensee who IS

authorized in writing and who, on behalf of the owner or
prospective owner of copyright, to the exclusion of all other
persons, is authOl~zed to do an act within the Philippines that,
by virtue of this Act, the owner of the copyright would, but
for the license, have the exclusive right to do or to perform.

(i) "Exhibition facilIty" means any cinema, fIlm theater,

screening room, projection r90m or other venue that is used
for the public exhibition of a cinematographic film or
audiovisual work, whether or not a fee is chargeable.

(j) "Operator of an exhibition facility" means any person

or entity who holds or is required to hold a license by the
Securities and Exchange Commission (,SEC', for companies and
partnerRhips), the Department of Trade and Industry I'DTI',
for sole proprietorships), the MOVIe and Television Review and
Classification Board (MTRCB) or any and all other relevant
government offices that have, or will have jurisdiction over
exhibition facilities to operate the exhibition facility.

(1<) "Relevant authority" means the officers, members and

responsible personnel of law enforcement agencies such as the
PNP and their adjuncts and the NBI.

(1) "Transmit" means to convey by any means, whether

over a path or a combination of paths, provided by a material
substance or by wireless means or otherwise, and whether or
not in response to a request made.

SEC. 3. Acts Constituting Unauthorized Possession, Use

and/or Control of Audiovisual Recording Deuic.es. - It shall
be unlawful for any person, at a time when copyright subsists
in a cinematographic film or other audiovisual work or its
soundtrack and without the authOrIzation of the copyright
owner or exclusive licensee thereof, to:

(a) use or attempt to use an audiovisual recording device

to transmit or make a copy of any performance in an
exhibition facility of such cinematographic film or other
audiovisual work or its soundtrack, or any part thereof;
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(b) have in histher possession, an audiovisual recording

device in an exhibition facility, with the intent of using or
attempts to use the audiovisual recording device to transmit
or make a copy of any performance in the exhibition facility
of such cinematographic fUm or other audiovisual work or its
soundtrack, or any part thereof; or

(c) aid, abet or connive in the commission of the acts

prohibited under this section.

SEC. 4. Penalties. - A person who will be found guilty

of violating the provisions of Section 3 shall be subject to a
fine of Fifty thousand pesos (php50,OOO.OO) but not exceeding
Seven hundred fifty thousand pesos (Php750,OOO.OO) and
imprisonment of six (6) months and one (1) day to six (6) years
and one (1) day.

If the purpose of the commission of the abovementioned

acts is the sale, rental or other commercial distribution of a
copy of the cinematographic or audiovisual work or its
soundtrack, or any part thereof, the penalty shall be imposed
in the maximum.

If the offender is an alien, said person shall immediately

be deported after payment of the fine and after serving
histher sentence. He/She shall thereafter be refused entry into
the Philippines.

If the offender is a government official or employee, the

penalty shall include perpetual disqualification from public office
and forfeiture of histher right to vote and participate in any
public election for a period of five (5) years.

SEC. 5. Presumptions as to the Subsistence of Copyright

and/or Ownership of Copyright. - For purposes of
Section 3, copyright shall be presumed to subsist in the subject
cinematographic film or other audiovisual work or its
soundtrack if the accused does not put in issue 'the question
as to whether copyright subsists therein. However:

(a) where the accused puts such question in issue but

does not satisfy the court that' he/she does so in good faith,
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the presumption as to the subsistence of copyright herein shall

apply, notwithstanding that the accused puts that question in
issue;

(b) where the name of a person appears on copies of the

subject cinematographic film or other audiovisual work or its
soundtrack as made available to the public in such a way as
to imply that the person was the maker thereof and, in the
case of a person other than a body corporate, that name was
hislher true name or a name by which helshe was commonly
known, that person shall be presumed to be the maker thereof
and the copyright owner thereof, unless the contrary is
established; andlor

(c) where the accused puts in issue the question of

whether copyright subsists in the subject cinematographic film
or other audiovisu<;ll work or its soundtrack, or the ownership
of the copyright therein, an affidavit made in behalf of the
copyright owner in which helshe makes assertions of facts
relevant to showing that: (1) copyright subsists in the work
or other subject matter; andlor, as the case may be,
(2) helshe is the owner of the copyright, shall be admitted in
evidence and shall be prima facie proof of the matters stated
therein until the contrary is proved, unless the court requires
that oralltestimonial evidence be adduced to prove those
matters.

SEC. 6. No Defense on Account of Use for Private or

Domestic Purposes. - It shall not be a defense that the
transmission or making of the copy of the cinematographic
film or other audiovisual work or its soundtrack, or any part
thereof, was for private or domestic purposes or in connection
with a fair use deal.

SEC. 7. Requirement for Posting of Notices in an

Exhibition Facility on the Prohibition Against the Bringing
into Said Exhibition Facility of Audiovisual Recording Devices
and the Like. - All exhibition facilities, cinemas or theaters
shall be required to conspicuously post in at least two (2) areas
in the exhibition facility including, but not limited to, the
areas where tickets are sold and the entrances of the exhibition
facilities, notices or signages warning against the bringing of
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audiovisual recording devices into the cinematographic

film/audiovisual screening/exhibition area, with a reservation
that the management/operator of the exhibition facility will
take into preventive and temporary custody such audiovisual
recording device/s until the film/movie theater patron leaves
the screening/exhibition area/facility.

Failure of the management/operator of the exhibition

facility to comply with the foregoing requirement will subject
said managementJoperator liable to pay a fine of Fifty thousand
pesos (php50,OOO.OO). .

Nothing in this Act shall prevent the management from

performing such other precautionary measures so as to prevent
the commission of the acts punishable herein.

SEC. 8.' Powers of Authorized Persons to Enter an

Exhibition Facility and Search the Same. - An authorized
person, without a warrant and without payment of any
admission fee or other charge, may enter and search any
exhibition facility if the authorized person has reasonable
ground to believe that any violation of this Act has been or
is being committed and, due to the delay necessary to obtain
a warrant could result in the loss or destruction of evidence,
or for any other reaSon it would not be reasonably practicable
to obtain a warrant.

SEC. 9. Other Powers of Authorized Persons. - An

authorized person who has reasonable ground to believe that
a violation under this Act has been or is being committed
may:

(a) search any person if the person subject of the search

has in his/her actual possession, any audiovisual recording
device, in respect of which an offense under this Act has been
or is being committed;

(b) seize, remove or detain any audiovisual recording

device or other object which appears to contain, or likely to
co,:,tain evidence of an offense committed under this Act;
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(c) use reasonable force to remove any person or object

obstructing the authorized person in the exercise of any power
conferred upon himlher by this Act;

(d) detain any person, within a reasonable time not

exceeding eighteen (18) hours, found in any place which the
authorized person is empowered to enter and search If, after
inquiry made, said authorized person has reasonable ground
to believe that the person subject of the search is connected
with the subject matter of the search and it is considered
necessary to detain the person subject of the search to be able
to adequately perform the search; and

(e) require the operator of an exhibition facility or any

other person who appears to be at the time responsible for
the control or management of the exhibition facility to give
information or render, assistance that may be necessary to
enable the authorized person to carry out the functions under
this Act,

SEC, 10. Forfeiture and Disposal of Unauthorized Copy

of Cinematographic Film or Other Audiovisual
Work/Audiovisual Recording Devices Used in the Commission
of the Acts Penalized Under this Act, - The court before
which a person charged with an offense III
violation/contravention of this Act, whether or not said person
charged is convicted of the offense, may order that any copy
of a cinematographic film or other audiovisual work in which
copyright subsists, or parts thereof which appears to the court
to be an unauthorized copy, and any audIOvisual recordmg
device or other equipment in the possession of the alleged
offender or the court, be destroyed or delivered to the owner
or the exclusive licensee of the copyright owner concerned or
otherwise dealt with in such a manner as the court deems
fit,

In the event that the court retains representative

samples of the unauthorized copy of a cinematographic fIlm
or other audiovisual work, or audiovisual recording devices or
other equipment for evidentiary purposes in the prosecution
of the offense for which an accused is charged, the retained
8

samples shall remain in custodia legis until the final resolution

of the court proceedings thereon.

SEC. 11. Enforcement. - The PNP, in coordination with

the NBr, the Optical Media Board (OMB), operators of the
cinemas, theaters or exhibition facilities and owners of the
cinematographic films or audiovisual works and other
soundtracks, shall enforce the provisions of this Act. The PNP
may deputize, for a defined period, the heads or personnel of
such agencies and instrumentalities of government or private
sector representatives or stakeholders of rights over
cinematographic films/audiovisual works and their soundtracks,
to perform the enforcement functions required under this Act.

SEC. 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this

Act is declared invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof
not affected thereby sball remain and mntinue to be in full
force and effect.

SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees,

ordinances or rules and regulations which are inconsistent with
or contrary to the provisions of this Act are hereby amended
or repealed.

SEC. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen

(15) days after its complete publication in at least two (2)
newspapers of national circulation.

Approved,

Speaker of the House

of Representatives
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This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3529

and House Bill No. 5699 was finally passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on January 18, 2010 and
January 27,2010, respectively.

bA!~
Secretary General Secretmy of the Senate
House ofRepresentatives

Approved: MAY 13 2010

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GLORI MACAPAGALj'.RROYO
'esident of the Philippines