Intellectual Property should be a grassroots knowledge

As a vanguard of truth, we have always been taught to hold our ideals so high so that no one could ever use our profession to vilify, and serve the interests of only a small group of people. On the same note, we learned the importance of honoring the labor of others and giving them adequate and appropriate credit – the proper method to preserve and dignify our journalistic standards of ethics.

We will come across several situations along the way where we must use someone else's work, but when we do so, we should be guided by the right information to prevent breaking the law on intellectual property.

According to Cornell Law School, in general terms, intellectual property is any product of the human intellect that the law protects from unauthorized use by others. The ownership of intellectual property inherently creates a limited monopoly in the protected property, they are entitled with legal privileges that, among other things, provide its owners control over how their intellectual property is used and certain advantages from it.

In order to strengthen the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) rights in the nation, a government agency, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOP), is mandated to oversee and enforce State policies on intellectual property.

According to data gathered by the IPOP, the total number of allegations of IP violations from January to September 2020 outnumbered those from the preceding four years, from 2015 to 2019.

Be advised that the Philippines implemented flexible technology learning in the year 2020; this element may be seen as a result of students relying only on the internet. Consequently, committing IP Violations.

IPOP added that fifty-one or about 38% did not involve counterfeiting and piracy but were IP infringement matters such as two entities having similar marks or unauthorized use of copyright works.

For counterfeiting and piracy, most or 79 violators were operating online, with Facebook as the top platform where alleged IP violations were channeled.

Besides propagating fake news and historical distortion, Facebook and other social media platforms have developed into a haven for intellectual property theft.

Last May national elections, in a report published by Manila Times, Pangasinan Rep. Christopher de Venecia, joined Filcap, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPO PHL) in criticizing the improper use of copyrighted materials and other IPR (intellectual property rights) content and work output in the current election campaign.

He highlighted that "changing the lyrics but retaining the music still constitutes a violation of IPR laws and regulations. IPR violation is stealing plain and simple."

These figures and complaints are blatant evidence that if the Philippine government neglects the idea of promoting IP rights to the general public, these numbers will continue to prosper, and people will keep on breaching intellectual property.

As a student who has a media law subject, I am honored to learn this while in academe, but there are many students and professionals out there who have been restrained in learning basic knowledge about the IP which results in committing the mistake.

Teaching Intellectual Property should not be limited to tertiary level but instead it should be taught in grassroot programs to inculcate in everyone’s mind how important Intellectual Property law is.

I think that if we inculcate this awareness in everyone’s mind, it will improve everybody's lives in the Philippines, both on a micro and macro basis.

This was proven already by a study conducted by US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) they found out that Intellectual Property Creates and Supports High-Paying Jobs, Intellectual Property Drives Economic Growth and Competitiveness, Strong and Enforced Intellectual Property Rights Protect Consumers and Families, and Intellectual Property Helps Generate Breakthrough Solutions to Global Challenges.

Imagine if we achieve these kinds of things – it will surely help Millions of Filipinos if used and maximized properly.