Performance Activity #2 (2nd Quarter)- Intellectual Property Code

Intellectual Property is a right given to an individual that can be either an artist, inventor or author who created an original artwork, invention, literary art etc.It is protected by a law known as Republic Act 8293, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. It grants the rights of a creator or inventor to have a legal and registered ownership over his/her tangible or intangible ideas and concepts. The law protects the rights of investors, scientists and artists by providing penalties and appropriate sanctions to whoever tries to violate the law by infringing their rights through unauthorized copying or reproduction of their original work. The law classifies intellectual property into three types namely Copyright,Trademark and Patent. For example, if a certain brand logo is copied even not exactly but is indistinguishable from the original, the copyright holder can report the illegal copier and can be punished by imprisonment.

Violations under the Intellectual Property Code include illicit and unauthorized copying of a protected and registered work from a source, distributing and reproducing it especially for commercial purposes. These are punishable by law through penalties like fines and imprisonment depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the action. Take for example under Copyright,using a photographic work of another individual for commercial or competition purposes without crediting the owner is considered as an infringement to the right of the owner.For a patent, if you copied a patented formula or a recipe for a certain food, it can also be punishable by the Intellectual Property Code.

One of the agencies that upholds the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines is the Intellectual Property Office or the IPO. It is a government agency where inventors, authors or artists can register their intellectual properties to give them legal ownership. The said agency also aims to intensify the intellectual property rights of individuals in the country. The FilePino on the other hand, is a non government agency that has the same purpose as IPO but offers more help for creators. They provide their clients with an experienced IP lawyer that will help them steer clear of possible pitfalls, prepare application with the goal of providing them with the broadest possible protection, and provide all the advice they will need.