Philippines’ antipiracy campaign on the right track (Two years of PAPT)
Ike Suarez, Tech Times contributor
Manila Times
The Philippine government, through its Pilipinas Antipiracy Team, has coordinated its efforts at enforcing the law against software piracy since the team was formed in August 2005. In line with this, the Business Software Alliance has found the results produced by the PAPT for the past two years as encouraging.
This development was announced at a PAPT press briefing last week in Makati City where officials of this coordinating body gave out a progress report of its achievements as it marked its 2nd anniversary.
PAPT is made up of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Optical Media Board (OMB) with the mandate to coordinate and render consistent their efforts as the three respective agencies conduct their individual operations to run after users and sellers of pirated software. OMB Chairman Eduardo Manzano is its spokesman.
At the briefing, Manzano pointed out that the United States government has now taken the Philippines out of its Priority Watch List of software copyrights violators. Although, he did not claim the credit for the coordinating body.
Nevertheless, he read a congratulatory message sent by President Gloria Arroyo on the occasion of its 2nd anniversary, saying: “The coordination among these agencies had brought encouraging results and noteworthy gains to the government’s fight against software piracy. Proof of this was the removal of the Philippines from the priority Watch List of the United States.”
Officials of the NBI, PNP and OMB separately informed reporters about their respective agencies’ progress in the antipiracy campaign. NBI Deputy Director Victor Bessat told reporters that from January to August 2007, their agency had seized P189-million worth of items related to their efforts nationwide to enforce software copyright laws.
The items consisted of illegally copied software and the hardware in which they were installed as well as peripherals related to their use.
Such seizures were the results of 185 search warrants served nationwide on business establishment suspected of using or selling pirated computer programs.
Bessat said that in 2006, the NBI had raided 23 establishments throughout the country bringing about the confiscation of 320 computers with unlicensed software, bringing a total worth of P57 million. “For the year 2006 to the present, we have filed 892 cases against violators of Intellectual Property Rights” he said.
The PNP Intelligence chief, Col. Noel de los Reyes, on the other hand, told reporters that their agency from January to August 31 this year, seized close to P292-million worth of unlicensed software along with CD installers, PCs and peripherals. It had also arrested 76 persons and filed cases against them in court for IPR violations.
As with the NBI, the seizures and arrests were the result of nationwide operations.
Likewise, OMB Executive Director Rosendo Meneses told reporters that their agency had from January to August 2007 seized P634.5-million worth of pirated optical discs and related paraphernalia such as replicating machines, television monitors, DVD players and PCs.
At the briefing, the PAPT spokesman explained that the OMB does not distinguish whether the pirated content is software, music, movies, computer games, or video programs.
BSA Asia Director for Piracy Tarun Shawney, who flew to Manila from Singapore, told reporters that the PAPT’s efforts to consistently enforce IPR laws were a fantastic achievement. He said that while software piracy rates in the Philippines were still high, the results so far by the government to run after users and sellers of unauthorized programs had been encouraging.
Last May, at a press briefing, the BSA said piracy rates in the Philippines were at a high of 70 percent.
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