Republic of the Philippines

DR. EMILIO B. ESPINOSA, SR. MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE

OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
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Cabitan, Mandaon, Masbate
College of Industrial Technology

IT 212 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

RIGHTS

Prepared by:
Marielle N. Velarde
Instructor
Brief History

The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines was signed into law 26 years ago and became
effective on January 1, 1998. But did you know the intellectual property system in the
Philippines existed before the country even declared itself an independent state?
The Spanish Law on Intellectual Property, approved on January 10, 1879 and came into force in
1880, was the first known copyright law in the Philippines. Under Spanish laws, copyright is
deemed as a property right and governed by civil law but with special legislative provisions.
On patents, even if historical records can’t confirm when the Spanish patent law of 1826 was
administered and adopted in the Philippines, some royal decrees pertaining to the colonies passed
in that period, saw the question of patents placed under the jurisdiction of ordinary tribunals in
the Philippines. Patent applications from the Philippines had to be sent to Spain for examination
and grant.
Following the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896 and the defeat of Spain in the
Spanish-American War, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the European country and the
United States to formalize the end of hostilities.
The Treaty of Paris, signed in December of 1898 ended 300 years of Spanish colonial rule in the
Philippines, and dictated the cessation of the Philippines and Guam from Spanish dominion to
the American colonial order. Article 13 of the Treaty of Paris specifically made mention of the
existent intellectual property system in the Philippines:
“The rights of property secured by copyrights and patents acquired by Spaniards in the Island of
Cuba and in Porto Rico, the Philippines, and other ceded territories, at the time of the exchange
of the ratifications of this treaty, shall continue to be respected…”

In 1913, the Philippine legislature passed Act No. 2235 making United States’ patent laws
applicable in the Philippines. Act No. 3134, entitled, "An Act to Protect Intellectual Property”
was passed in 1924, making it the main intellectual property law in effect until after Philippine
independence from the US in 1945. Act. No. 3134 was based on the U.S. Copyright Law of
1909.
As a newly independent state, the Philippines enacted two laws strengthening the IP system in:
Republic Act 165 and Republic Act 166, establishing a patent office and allowing for registration
and protection of trademarks, trade names, and service marks respectively, in 1947.
During the Marcos administration, Presidential Decree No. 49, which governed copyright works,
was passed and superseded Act No. 3134. As a politically independent state from the mid-1940s
onwards, the Philippines also entered into international conventions that laid out the foundations
of the intellectual property system we know today: the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works (1951), and the Rome Convention of International Convention for
the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (1964).
The Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), came into
force in 1980, of which the Philippines was already a signatory of since the 1960s. More
significantly, the Philippine Constitution promulgated in 1987 recognized the importance of
intellectual property in Article XIV, Section 13: “The State shall protect and secure the exclusive
rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and
creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such period as may be provided by law.”
Later on, as the Philippines progressively became a member of the global community, it also
adhered to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in 1995
following its entry into the World Trade Organization in the same year. In keeping with its
commitment to these international conventions and the Philippine Constitution, the Philippine
government consolidated the pending intellectual property laws in 1997, and the efforts led to the
passing and enforcement of Republic Act 8293, the Intellectual Property Code in 1998.

What is intellectual property (IP/IPR)?

The term intellectual property (IP) is sometimes used as something separate from intellectual
property rights (IPR). IP refers to creations of the mind that are original in nature and have not
been duplicated by anyone or anywhere. EX. Inventions, literary, artworks.
In such cases, the term IP means the (abstract) product of the intellect and the term IPR means a
legal right covering IP. For example, an invention and an original work of authorship are
intellectual property and protected by the intellectual property right called "patent" and
"copyright".
The term IP is also used to denote things for which no explicit legal right is provided. An
invention can be protected by a patent. An original work of authorship is protected by copyright.
A distinctive product name can be registered as a trademark.
Intellectual Property can be broadly categorized into two major categories:
Individual Property which is original and intangible in nature and is related to commercial as
well as industry-related products which includes inventions(patents), trademarks, industrial
designs, and geographic indications of source comes under the category of individual property.
Copyright. The creations which are original and intangible in nature, such as literary and artistic
works like novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, and articles as well as artistic works such
as drawings, paintings, sculptures, and architectural design. Rights related to copyright include
those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings,
and those of broadcasters in the radio and television programs.

Examples of inventions protected by Intellectual Property Laws:

Architectural Audio Visual Recordings

l
 Literary Musical Sculptural

The term “intellectual property rights” consists of:

a) Copyright and Related Rights;
Copyright is a right provided to the owner of the literary or artistic work. It is an
exclusive right to control the publication, distribution, and adaptation of creative works.
Copyright laws deal with the intellectual property of creative works like articles, books, music,
software, paintings, etc. Copyright protects two types of rights. Economic rights allow right
owners to derive financial rewards from the use of their works by others. Moral rights allow
authors and creators to take certain actions to preserve and protect their link with their work.
Related Rights, on the other hand, are the rights related to copyright, that have their special
subject matter of protection, which is mainly related to copyright works. These rights are called
the rights related to copyright or simply related rights, or the rights neighboring to copyright or
simply neighboring rights.
b) Trademarks and Service Marks;
A trademark can be any word, phrase, symbol, design, or combination of these things
that identifies your goods or services. It’s how customers recognize you in the marketplace and
distinguish you from your competitors.
A service mark is a brand name or logo that identifies the provider of a service. A
service mark may consist of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or some combination of these
elements. A form of intellectual property protection, the mark prevents competing businesses
from using names and insignias that could potentially confuse consumers.
The word “trademark” can refer to both trademarks and service marks. A trademark is
used for goods, while a service mark is used for services. A trademark identifies the source of
goods, while a service mark designates the provider of a service. Despite the distinction, the term
“trademark” is commonly used to describe both forms of intellectual property. A “service” is
something intangible provided for the benefit of another party.
c) Geographic Indications;
A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific
geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to
function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the
qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of
origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link
between the product and its original place of production.
d) Industrial Designs;
An industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. Design, in this
sense, may be three-dimensional features (shape or surface of an article), or two-dimensional
features (patterns or lines of color). Handicrafts, jewelry, vehicles, appliances - the subject of
industrial designs range from fashion to industrial goods.
The owner of a registered industrial design has the right to prevent third parties from
making, selling, or importing articles bearing or embodying a design which is a copy, or
substantially a copy, of the protected design, when such acts are undertaken for commercial
purposes.
e) Patents;
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process
that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a
problem. To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the
public in a patent application.
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process
that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a
problem. To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the
public in a patent application.

Reference:
Lim, Christoper L. “The Development of Philippine Copyright Law.” Ateneo Law Journal, 46 ,
ser. 368, 2001.
Sapalo, Ignacio S. Background Reading Material on the Intellectual Property System of the
Philippines. World Intellectual Property Organization, 1994
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