WITH the start of the campaign season, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (Ipophl) reminded the candidates of May 2022 elections and their political parties to adhere to IP laws and properly compensate the owners of copyrighted works used in their promotional paraphernalias.
In a statement on Thursday, Ipophl Director General Rowel S. Barba said that “the election period is a great time for candidates to help artists recover from the pandemic-induced economic downturn” given that copyrighted works like photos, audiovisual content and songs are being used for campaign materials.
“I hope candidates compensate our artists fairly for their contributions in creating more effective and creative campaign messages,” Barba said.
He pointed out that playing songs to the public during sorties or motorcades may also require a fee.
Still, Barba said that candidates must secure the permission of the IP right holders first, noting that they have the right to refuse the request as mandated by IP Code of 1997.
“Even as candidates are willing to pay a handsome fee, they first and foremost have to ask copyright holders’ permission to use their works in their political ads, and respect their decision if their proposals are turned down if it’s because they refuse any association from a certain political party,” Barba explained.
The Ipophl official even said candidates can now directly contact the copyright holders through social-media platforms to ask permission.
The candidates can also reach to Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Inc. (Filscap), Philippines Recorded Music Rights Inc. (PRM) or the Independent Music Producers of the Philippines (Impro) so they can seek permission to use a song.
Barba said that “campaign jingles had been the biggest source of infringement complaints in past election periods, the agency remains to have its eyes wide open on possible cases and disputes that may arise involving new marketing trends in the 2022 elections.”
The IP agency, with this, said they are monitoring the developments on social- media platforms as well.
He also urged the artists to report if candidates and their political parties used their copyrighted works without permission.
With the higher public awareness towards IP and copyright, Barba said candidates should always pay respect to others’ works.
“Candidates must be mindful of how they use copyrighted works, and encourage their supporters to do the same when creating materials for their online promotions or self-organized rallies, if they want to avoid backlash and a decrease in supporters,” Barba said.
“In the past, electorates would
learn about copyright and IP due to infringement issues that candidates would be embroiled in. Hopefully, this election season will be different in that candidates respect and promote respect for IP rights instead of stealing them,” he concluded.