INFORMATION-technology sector players announced on April 20 new efforts to prevent piracy, illegal camcording and other violations of intellectual-property Rights (IPR).
“IPR education and awareness are vital in ensuring that Filipinos are conscious of the importance of IPR and the various measures and laws in place to protect the system,” Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Josephine R. Santiago said. “A high level of IPR appreciation brings about respect and recognition for the works of gifted and creative individuals who make our life easier and better through the fruits of their creative genius.”
Most important, she added, people should be aware of the adverse economic implications of IPR violations to the country and the potential dangers to human life and health.
Santiago also emphasized that an effective intellectual-property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative activities, in facilitating transfer of technologies, encouraging the inflow of foreign investments and in ensuring market access to Filipino products and services. “We, at IPOPHL, would like to invite all Filipinos to join us in our advocacy of defending the rights of creators, innovators and inventors and in fighting infringement, piracy and other forms of IPR violations.”
But while the Philippines continues to experience a fast-growing digital landscape and high mobile engagement among users, with digital trade and e-commerce on the rise, online piracy continues to threaten the entire ecosystem, Santiago said. Criminals and organized cartels have also sought to capitalize on digital-related crime, she added.
“People accessing content on pirate websites face a dual risk—potential identity theft from malware [malicious software] and Trojans and, secondly, exposure to highly sexualized content.”
A 2017 State of Malware Report by Malwarebytes said the Philippines is now a global “bot haven”, accounting over 50 percent of botnet detection in Asia, and a home to an extremely large source of Trojan malware.
Private technology players have urged the national government to improve data security. According to Solar Entertainment Corp. President Wilson Tieng, criminals, operating individually or in groups, bait visitors by the prospect of gaining access to creative content.
“When baited, they use spywares and bots to access and/or control their victims’ devices remotely and steal their data, which may be used for identity theft and other malicious scams,” Tieng said during a news briefing for the Philippines’s celebration of the World IP Day.