Senate readies debate on new copyright law
-A A +ASaturday, June 4, 2011
MANILA -- A measure to strengthen the country’s copyright law will soon be tackled in Senate plenary after it recently passed the committee level.
Senate Bill 2842 under Committee Report 38 was submitted in substitution of the bills separately filed by Senators Manny Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, Antonio Trillanes IV, Lito Lapid, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Edgardo Angara, and Loren Legarda.
The bill amends certain provisions of Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, according to Villar, chairman of Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce.
Among the new provisions include giving special copyright considerations for the blind, visually- and reading-impaired persons when reproduction is made in a specialized format and distributed for free.
A new agency called the Bureau of Copyright will also be established to address concerns of copyright issues not given attention. This will be attached to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
Villar said an amended IP Code will strengthen government’s campaign on the protection of intellectual property rights, particularly the fight against illegal downloading of music via the internet. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)
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