I.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS national culture based on the principle of unity in
 ARTICLE XII - NATIONAL ECONOMY AND
PATRIMONY:
Section 6. The use of property bears a social function,
and all economic agents shall contribute to the common
good. Individuals and private groups, including
corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective
organizations, shall have the right to own, establish, and
operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of
the State to promote distributive justice and to
intervene when the common good so demands.
Section 14. The sustained development of a reservoir of
national talents consisting of Filipino scientists,
entrepreneurs, professionals, managers, high-level
technical manpower and skilled workers and craftsmen
in all fields shall be promoted by the State. The State
shall encourage appropriate technology and regulate its
transfer for the national benefit.
 ARTICLE XIV - EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY, ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORTS:
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Section 10. Science and technology are essential for
national development and progress. The State shall give
priority to research and development, invention,
innovation, and their utilization; and to science and
technology education, training, and services. It shall
support indigenous, appropriate, and self-reliant
scientific and technological capabilities, and their
application to the country’s productive systems and
national life.
Section 11. The Congress may provide for incentives,
including tax deductions, to encourage private
participation in programs of basic and applied scientific
research. Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other forms of
incentives shall be provided to deserving science
students, researchers, scientists, inventors,
technologists, and specially gifted citizens.
Section 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and
promote the adaptation of technology from all sources
for the national benefit. It shall encourage the widest
participation of private groups, local governments, and
community-based organizations in the generation and
utilization of science and technology.
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.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Section 14. The State shall foster the preservation,
enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino
diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual
expression.
Section 15. Arts and letters shall enjoy the patronage of
the State. The State shall conserve, promote, and
popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage
and resources, as well as artistic creations.
Section 16. All the country’s artistic and historic wealth
constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation and shall
be under the protection of the State which may regulate
its disposition.
Section 17. The State shall recognize, respect, and
protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to
preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and
institutions. It shall consider these rights in the
formulation of national plans and policies.
Section 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to
cultural opportunities through the educational system,
public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants
and other incentives, and community cultural centers,
and other public venues.
(2) The State shall encourage and support researches
and studies on the arts and culture.
TAÑADA v. ANGARA, G.R. No. 118295. May 2, 1997;
272 SCRA
Facts:
This is a case petition by Sen. Wigberto Tanada,
together with other lawmakers, taxpayers, and various
NGO’s to nullify the Philippine ratification of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement.
Petitioners believe that this will be detrimental to the
growth of our National Economy and against to the
“Filipino First” policy. The WTO opens access to foreign
markets, especially its major trading partners, through
the reduction of tariffs on its exports, particularly
agricultural and industrial products. Thus, provides new
opportunities for the service sector cost and uncertainty
associated with exporting and more investment in the
country. These are the predicted benefits as reflected in
the agreement and as viewed by the signatory Senators,
a “free market” espoused by WTO.
Petitioners also contends that it is in conflict with the
provisions of our constitution, since the said Agreement
is an assault on the sovereign powers of the Philippines
because it meant that Congress could not pass
legislation that would be good for national interest and
general welfare if such legislation would not conform to
the WTO Agreement.
Issue:
WON the General Provisions and Basic Principles of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) intrudes on the power of the
Supreme Court to promulgate rules concerning
pleading, practice and procedures.
Ruling:
 Suffice it to say that the reciprocity clause more
than justifies such intrusion, if any actually
exists. In the area of trade related aspects of
intellectual property rights (TRIPS, for brevity):
Each Member shall accord to the nationals of
other Members treatment no less favorable
than that it accords to its own nationals with
regard to the protection of intellectual
property:
 a WTO Member is required to provide a rule of
disputable (not the words "in the absence of
proof to the contrary") presumption that a
product shown to be identical to one produced
with the use of a patented process shall be
deemed to have been obtained by the (illegal)
use of the said patented process, (1) where such
product obtained by the patented product is
new, or (2) where there is "substantial
likelihood “that the identical product was made
with the use of the said patented process but
the owner of the patent could not determine
the exact process used in obtaining such
identical product. Hence, the "burden of proof"
contemplated by Article 34 should actually be
understood as the duty of the alleged patent
infringer to overthrow such presumption. Such
burden, properly understood, actually refers to
the "burden of evidence" (burden of going
forward) placed on the producer of the identical
(or fake)product to show that his product was
produced without the use of the patented
process. The foregoing notwithstanding, the
patent owner still has the "burden of proof"
since, regardless of the presumption provided
under paragraph 1 of Article 34, such owner still
has to introduce evidence of the existence of
the alleged identical product, the fact that it is
"identical" to the genuine one produced by the
patented process and the fact of "newness" of
the genuine product or the fact of "substantial
likelihood" that the identical product was made
by the patented process. Moreover, it should be
noted that the requirement of Article 34 to
provide a disputable presumption applies only
if (1) the product obtained by the patented
process in NEW or (2) there is a substantial
likelihood that the identical product was made
by the process and the process owner has not
been able through reasonable effort to
determine the process used. Where either of
these two provisos does not obtain, members
shall be free to determine the appropriate
method of implementing the provisions of
TRIPS within their own internal systems and
processes.
 While the Constitution indeed mandates a bias
in favor of Filipino goods, services, labor and
enterprises, at the same time, it recognizes the
need for business exchange with the rest of the
world on the bases of equality and reciprocity
and limits protection of Filipino enterprises only
against foreign competition and trade practices
that are unfair. In other words, the Constitution
did not intend to pursue an isolationist policy.
It did not shut out foreign investments, goods
and services in the development of the
Philippine economy. While the Constitution
does not encourage the unlimited entry of
foreign goods, services and investments into
the country, it does not prohibit them either. In
fact, it allows an exchange on the basis of
equality and reciprocity, frowning only on
foreign competition that is unfair.
 There is hardly therefore any basis for the
statement that under the WTO, local industries
and enterprises will all be wiped out and that
Filipinos will be deprived of control of the
economy. Quite the contrary, the weaker
situations of developing nations like the
Philippines have been taken into account; thus,
there would be no basis to say that in joining
the WTO, the respondents have gravely abused
their discretion. True, they have made a bold
decision to steer the ship of state into the yet
uncharted sea of economic liberalization. But
such decision cannot be set aside on the ground
of grave abuse of discretion, simply because we
disagree with it or simply because we believe
only in other economic policies.
 Aside from envisioning a trade policy based on
“equality and reciprocity,” the fundamental law
encourages industries that are “competitive in
both domestic and foreign markets,” thereby
demonstrating a clear policy against a sheltered
domestic trade environment, but one in favor
of the gradual development of robust industries
that can compete with the best in the foreign
markets. Indeed, Filipino managers and Filipino
enterprises have shown capability and tenacity
to compete internationally. And given a free
trade environment, Filipino entrepreneurs and
managers in Hongkong have demonstrated the
Filipino capacity to grow and to prosper against
the best offered under a policy of laissez faire.
 Petitioners aver that paragraph 1, Article 34 of
the General Provisions and Basic Principles of
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) intrudes on
the power of the Supreme Court to promulgate
rules concerning pleading, practice and
procedures. xxx By and large, the arguments
 adduced in connection with our disposition of
the third issue -- derogation of legislative power
- will apply to this fourth issue also. Suffice it to
say that the reciprocity clause more than
justifies such intrusion, if any actually exists.
Besides, Article 34 does not contain an
unreasonable burden, consistent as it is with
due process and the concept of adversarial
dispute settlement inherent in our judicial
system. So too, since the Philippine is a
signatory to most international conventions on
patents, trademarks and copyrights, the
adjustment in legislation and rules of procedure
will not be substantial.
 Hence, the “burden of proof” contemplated by
Article 34 should actually be understood as the
duty of the alleged patent infringer to
overthrow such presumption. Such burden,
properly understood, actually refers to the
“burden of evidence” (burden of going forward)
placed on the producer of the identical (or fake)
product to show that his product was produced
without the use of the patented process. The
foregoing notwithstanding, the patent owner
still has the “burden of proof” since, regardless
of the presumption provided under paragraph
1 of Article 34, such owner still has to introduce
evidence of the existence of the alleged
identical product, the fact that it is “identical”
to the genuine one produced by the patented
process and the fact of “newness” of the
genuine product or the fact of “substantial
likelihood” that the identical product was made
by the patented process.
II. CIVIL CODE
Trade-marks and Trade-names
ARTICLE 520. A trade-mark or trade-name duly
registered in the proper government bureau or office is
owned by and pertains to the person, corporation, or
firm registering the same, subject to the provisions of
special laws.
ARTICLE 521. The goodwill of a business is property, and
may be transferred together with the right to use the
name under which the business is conducted.
ARTICLE 522. Trade-marks and trade-names are
governed by special laws. (n)
ARTICLE 712. Ownership is acquired by occupation and
by intellectual creation.
Ownership and other real rights over property are
acquired and transmitted by law, by donation, by
testate and intestate succession, and in consequence of
certain contracts, by tradition.
They may also be acquired by means of prescription.
Intellectual Creation
ARTICLE 721. By intellectual creation, the following
persons acquire ownership:
(1) The author with regard to his literary, dramatic,
historical, legal, philosophical, scientific or other work;
(2) The composer, as to his musical composition;
(3) The painter, sculptor, or other artist, with respect to
the product of his art;
(4) The scientist or technologist or any other person
with regard to his discovery or invention.
ARTICLE 722. The author and the composer, mentioned
in Nos. 1 and 2 of the preceding article, shall have the
ownership of their creations even before the
publication of the same. Once their works are
published, their rights are governed by the Copyright
laws.
The painter, sculptor or other artist shall have dominion
over the product of his art even before it is copyrighted.
The scientist or technologist has the ownership of his
discovery or invention even before it is patented.
ARTICLE 723. Letters and other private communications
in writing are owned by the person to whom they are
addressed and delivered, but they cannot be published
or disseminated without the consent of the writer or his
heirs. However, the court may authorize their
publication or dissemination if the public good or the
interest of justice so requires.
ARTICLE 724. Special laws govern copyright and patent.
Differences between Copyright, trademarks and patent
Kho v. CA (G.R. No. 115758)
Facts:
Petitioner, doing business under the name and style KEC
Cosmetics Laboratory, alleges that it is the registered
owner of copyright and patent registration of the Chin
Chun Su container and medicated cream. Hence,
petitioner filed a complaint to enjoin respondent
Summerville Company from advertising and selling
cream products under the same brand name Chin Chun
Su as it will mislead the public and damage petitioner’s
business. The trial court granted the injunction. On
appeal, the writ was dissolved. The trial court ruled to
bar petitioner from using the mark Chin Chun Su.
Issue:
Whether or not petitioner is entitled to the exclusive
use of the trademark Chin Chun Su based on her
copyright and patent registration over the product.
Ruling: NO.
Trademark, copyright and patents are different
intellectual property rights that cannot be interchanged
with one another. A trademark is any visible sign
capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or
services (service mark) of an enterprise and shall include
a stamped or marked container of goods. In relation
thereto, a trade name means the name or designation
identifying or distinguishing an enterprise. Meanwhile,
the scope of a copyright is confined to literary and
artistic works which are original intellectual creations in
the literary and artistic domain protected from the
moment of their creation. Patentable inventions, on the
other hand, refer to any technical solution of a problem
in any field of human activity which is new, involves an
inventive step and is industrially applicable. Petitioner
has no right to support her claim for the exclusive use
of the subject trade name and its container. The name
and container of a beauty cream product are proper
subjects of a trademark inasmuch as the same falls
squarely within its definition.
In order to be entitled to exclusively use the same in the
sale of the beauty cream product, the user must
sufficiently prove that she registered or used it before
anybody else did. The petitioner’s copyright and patent
registration of the name and container would not
guarantee her right to the exclusive use of the same for
the reason that they are not appropriate subjects of the
said intellectual rights. Consequently, a preliminary
injunction order cannot be issued for the reason that
the petitioner has not proven that she has a clear right
over the said name and container to the exclusion of
others, not having proven that she has registered a
trademark thereto or used the same before anyone did.
III. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
A. Legislative History of the Law on Copyright and
Related rights.
1. Presidential Decree No. 49 (took effect on
December 27, 1972)
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 49 November 14, 1972
DECREE ON THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
WHEREAS, tremendous strides in science and
technology have made necessary updating of the
Copyright Law to give fuller protection to intellectual
property and to encourage arts and letters, as well as
stimulates scientific research and invention, at the same
time safeguard the public's right to cultural information;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President
of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me
by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the
Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to
Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and
General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as
amended, do hereby, order and make as part of the law
of the land the following measure:
CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY PROVISION
Section 1. This Decree shall be known as the "Decree on
Intellectual Property."
Sec. 2. The Rights granted by this Decree shall, from the
moment of creation, subsist with respect to any of the
following classes of works:
(A) Books, including composite and encyclopedic works,
manuscripts, directories, and gazetteers;
(B) Periodicals, including pamphlets and newspapers;
(C) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations
prepared for oral delivery;
(D) Letters;
(E) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions;
choreographic works and entertainments in dumb
shows, the acting form of which is fixed in writing or
otherwise;
(F) Musical compositions, with or without words;
(G) Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture,
engraving, lithography, and other works of art; models
or designs for works of art;
(H) Reproductions of a work of art;
(I) Original ornamental designs or models for articles of
manufacture, whether or not patentable, and other
works of applied art;
(J) Maps, plans, sketches, and charts;
(K) Drawings, or plastic works of a scientific or technical
character;
(L) Photographic works and works produced by a
process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
(M) Cinematographic works and works produced by a
process analogous to cinematography or any process
for making audio-visual recordings;
(N) Computer programs;
(O) Prints, pictorial, illustration, advertising copies,
labels, tags, and box wraps;
(P) Dramatization, translations, adaptations,
abridgements, arrangements and other alterations of
literary, musical or artistic works or of works of the
Philippine Government as herein defined, which shall
be protected as provided in Sec. 8 of this Decree.
(Q) Collection of literary, scholarly, or artistic works or
of works referred to in Sec. 9 of this Decree which by
reason of the selection and arrangement of their
contents constitute intellectual creations, the same to
be protected as such in accordance with Sec. 8 of this
Decree.
(R) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.
Sec. 3. The rights granted by this Decree shall not be lost
except in the number specifically provided herein.
Neither shall they be subject to levy and attachment
while in the possession of the creator or his heirs.
Sec. 4. Nothing in this Decree shall be deemed to alter
or in any manner impair any other right or remedy of
the persons protected by its provisions.
CHAPTER II - COPYRIGHT
Article I
Scope and beneficiaries of copyright.
Sec. 5. Copyright shall consist in the exclusive right;
(A) To print, reprint, publish, copy, distribute, multiply,
sell, and make photographs, photo-engravings, and
pictorial illustrations of the works;
(B) To make any translation or other version or extracts
or arrangements or adaptations thereof; to dramatize it
if it be a non-dramatic work; to convert it into a non-
dramatic work if it be a drama; to complete or execute
if it be a model or design;
(C) To exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or
reproduce, the work in any manner or by any method
whatever for profit or otherwise; it not reproduced in
copies for sale, to sell any manuscript or any record
whatsoever thereof;
(D) To make any other use or disposition of the work
consistent with the laws of the land.
Sec. 6. The creator or his heirs or assigns shall own the
copyright in any of the works mentioned in Sec. 2 of this
Decree. If the works is produced by two or more
persons, the copyright shall belong to them jointly and
their respective rights thereto shall be governed by the
Rules of the Civil Code on co-ownership.
If the work in which copyright subsists was made during
and in the course of the employment of the creator, the
copyright shall belong to;
(A) The employee, if the creation of the object of
copyright is not a part of his regular duties even if the
employee uses the time facilities and materials of the
employer.
(B) The employer, if the work is the result of the
performance of his regularly assigned duties, unless
there is an agreement, expressed or implied, to the
contrary.
Where the work is commissioned by a person who is not
the employer of the creator and who pays or agrees to
pay for it and the work is made in pursuance of the
commission, the person who so commissioned the work
shall have ownership of it but the copyright thereto
shall belong joint ownership to him and the creator,
unless there is a stipulation to the contrary.
The creators of a cinematographic or analogous work
are the producer, the author of the scenario, the
composer of the music, the film director, the
photographic director, and the author of the work
adapted. However, subject to contrary or other
stipulation among the creators, the producer shall
exercise the copyright to an extent required for the
exhibition of the work in any manner, except for the
right to collect performing fees for the musical
compositions, with or without words, which may be
incorporated into the work.
The copyright in letters shall belong to the writer,
subject to the provisions of Article 723 of the Civil Code.
Sec. 7. For purposes of this Decree, articles and other
writings published without the names of the authors or
under pseudonyms are considered as the property of
the publishers, unless the contrary appears.
Sec. 8. The works referred to in subsections (P) and (O)
of Sec. 2 of this Decree shall, when produced with the
consent of the creator or proprietor of the original
works on which they are based, be protected as new
works; however, such new works shall not affect the
force of any subsisting copyright upon the original
works employed or any part thereof, or be construed to
imply an exclusive right to such use of the original
works, or to secure or extend copyright in such original
works.
Sec. 9. No copy shall subsist in any work of the
Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval
of the government agency or office wherein the work is
created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work
for profit. Such agency or office may, among other
things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties.
No prior approval or condition shall be required for the
use for any purpose of statutes, rules and regulations,
and speeches, lecturers, sermons, addresses, and
dissertations pronounced, read or rendered in courts of
justice before administrative agencies, in deliberate
assemblies, and in meetings of public character.
A "Work of the Government of the Philippines" is a work
created by any officer or employee of the Philippine
Government or any of its subdivisions and
instrumentalities, including government owned or
controlled corporations as a part of his regularly
prescribed official duties.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the
Government is not precluded from receiving and
holding copyright transferred to it by assignment,
bequests or otherwise; nor shall publication or
republication by the Government in a public document
of any work in which copyright is subsisting be taken to
cause any abridgment or annulment of the copyright or
to authorize any use of appropriation of such work
without the consent of the copyright proprietor.
Article II
Limitations on copyright.
Section 10. When a work has been lawfully made
accessible to the public, the author shall not be entitled
to prohibit;
1. Its recitation or performance (A) if done privately and
free of charge; of (B) if made for strictly charitable or
religious institution or society.
2. Reproductions, translations and adaptations thereof
destined exclusively for personal and private use.
Section 11. To an extend compatible with fair practice
and justified by the scientific, critical, informatory or
educational purpose, it shall be permissible to make
quotations or exerpts from a work already lawfully
made accessible to the public. Such quotations may be
utilized in their original form or in translation.
News items, editorials, and articles on current political,
social, economic, scientific or religious topic may be
reproduced by the press or broast, unless they contain
or are accompanied by a notice that their reproduction
or publication is reserved. In case of musical works,
parts of little extent may also be reproduced.
Quotations and excerpts as well as reproduction shall
always be accompanied by an acknowledgment of the
source and name of the author. If his name appears
thereon.
Section 12. In reports of a current event by means of
photography, cinematography or broasting, literary,
scientific or artistic works which can be seen or heard in
the course of said event may be reproduced and
communicated to the public to the extent necessary for
the purpose.
Section 13. Libraries, public archives and museums have
the right, subject to the conditions specified in the
succeeding paragraphs, to produce for purposes of their
activities by photographic means, and without the
consent of the caretaker or proprietor, copies of a
literary or artistic work.
Materials forming part of the collections mentioned in
the preceding paragraph which, by reason of their
fragile character reproduced by photography for the
purpose of loans. Nevertheless, except in cases where
special reasons justify it, not more than two copies may
be made.
It is equally permissible to make, by means of
photography, reproduction of isolated articles
contained in composite works, as well as brief portions
of other published works, in order to supply them, when
this is considered expedient, to persons requesting their
loan for purposes of research or study, instead of
lending the volumes or booklets which contain them.
Each person seeking loan may only receive one copy of
each article or each portion of a work.
When a copy of a work is found to be incomplete, the
missing portions may be reproduced by means of
photography, provided they only constitute a minor
portion of the total work. Nevertheless, it shall not be
permitted to produce a volume of a work published in
several volumes or to produce missing tomes or part of
magazines or similar works, unless the volume, tome of
part is out of stock with booksellers, the printing house
and the publisher.
Every library which, by law, is entitled to receive one or
two copies of a printed work shall be entitled, when
special reasons so require, to reproduce, by means of
photography or process analogous to photography, a
copy of a published work, the acquisition of which is
considered necessary for the collections of the library,
but which is out of stock with booksellers, the printing
house and the publisher.
A work belonging to the collections mentioned in the
first paragraph of this section which has not been
disseminated may not be reproduced or published
without the consent of the creator or proprietor.
However, such work may be reproduced for purposes of
preservation.
Section 14. If, after the expiration of five years from the
date of the first publication of a writing, a translation of
such writings has not been published in the national or
other local language, as the case may be, the owner of
the right of translation or with his authorization, any
citizen may obtain a non- exclusive license from the
Director of the National Library, to translate the work
and publish the work so translated in the national or
other local language in which it has not been published;
Provided, That such citizen establishes either that he
has requested, and been denied, authorization by the
proprietor of the right to make and publish the
translation, or that, after due diligence on his part, he
was unable to find the owner of the right. A license may
also be granted on the same conditions if all previous
editions of a translation in such language are out of
print. In both cases the terms and conditions of the
license, including the royalties of the author or
proprietor of the original work, shall be stated therein.
If the owner of the right of translation cannot be found,
then the applicant for a license shall send copies of his
application to the purchaser whose name appears on
the work, and, if the nationality of the owner of the right
of translation is known, to the diplomatic or consular
representative of the state of which such owner is a
national, or to the organization which may have been
designated by the government of that state. The license
shall not be granted before the expiration of two
months from the date of the dispatch of the copies of
the application. Neither shall it be granted when the
author has withdrawn from circulation all copies of the
work.
The original title and the name of the author of the work
shall be printed on all copies of the published
translation.
Article III
Transfer of work and copyright
Section 15. The copyright may, by gift, inheritance or
otherwise, be transferred or assigned in whole or in
part. Such transfer or assignment shall entitle the
transferee or assignee to all rights and remedies which
the transferer or assignor had with respect to the
copyright.
The copyright is not deemed transferred or assigned
inter vivos in whole or in part, unless there is a written
indication that such is the intention.
The submission of a literary, photographic or artistic
work to a newspaper, magazine or periodical for
publication shall constitute only a license to make a
single publication unless a greater right is expressly
granted.
Section 16. The copyright is distinct from the property
in the material object to it. Consequently, the transfer
or assignment of the copyright shall not itself constitute
a transfer of the material object. Nor shall a transfer or
assignment of the sole copy or of one or several copies
of the work imply transfer or assignment of the
copyright.
Section 17. An assignment or transfer inter vivos, or a
license, must be in writing, acknowledged before a
notary public or other officer authorized to administer
oaths or perform notarial acts and certified under the
hand and seal of the notary or other officer.
This section and section 19 shall not apply to cases
covered by the last paragraph of section 15 of this
Decree.
Section 18. If two or more persons jointly own a
copyright or any part thereof, neither of the owners
shall be entitled to grant license without the consent of
the other owner or owners.
Section 19. Every assignment, license or other
instrument relating to any right, title or interest in a
copyright and to the work subject to it shall be filed in
duplicate with the National Library upon payment of the
prescribed fee for registration in books and records kept
for the purpose. Upon recording, a copy of the
instrument shall be returned to the sender with a
notation of the fact of record. Notice of the record shall
be published in the Official Gazette.
Such instrumentalities shall be void as against any
subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for valuable
consideration and without notice unless it is recorded in
the library prior to the subsequent purchase or
mortgage.
Sec. 20. When the creator of a work in which copy right
is subsisting dies, it shall be the duty of his heirs or
assigns to file with the National Library for registration
a written notice under oath of the date of the creator's
death. Until this is complied with, the limitation of
remedies established in Sec. 26 of this Decree shall be
enforced.
Article IV
Duration of copyright
Sec. 21. The copyright conferred by this Decree shall
endure during the lifetime of the creator and for fifty
years after his death. In case of works of joint creation,
the period of fifty years shall be counted from the death
of the last surviving co-creator.
Sec. 22. In case of anonymous and pseudonymous
works, the copyright shall last until the end of fifty years
following the date of their first publication. However,
when the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no
doubt as to his identity, or if the author of anonymous
or pseudonymous work discloses his identity during the
period mentioned in this section, the term of the
protection shall be that fixed in the next preceding
section.
Sec. 23. In the case posthumous works which do not fall
within the categories of the works referred to in the
next two preceding sections, the terms of protection
afforded to the heirs or assignees of the creator shall
end at the expiration of fifty years after his death.
Sec. 24. Irrespective of the provisions of the foregoing
sections of this article, the term shall be thirty years in
the case of: (A) periodicals and newspapers, provided
that material contained therein in which an
independent copyright may be deemed to subsist shall
be accorded the length or protection appropriate to it;
(B) works of applied art; (C) cinematographic or
photographic works as well as those produced or any
process analogous to cinematography or photography
or any process for making audio-visual recordings.
Sec. 25. The term of protection subsequent to the death
of the creator provided in Sec. 21 and 23 and the terms
provided in Sections 22 and 24 shall run from the date
of his death or of publication, but such terms shall
always be deemed to begin on the first day of January
of the year following the event which gives rise to them.
Article V
Deposit and notice
Sec. 26. After the first public dissemination or
performance by authority of the copyright owner of a
work falling under subsections (A), (B), (C) and (D) of
Sec. 2 of this Decree, there shall, within three weeks, be
registered and deposited with the National Library, by
personal delivery or by registered mail, two complete
copies or reproductions of the work in such form as the
Director of said library may prescribe. A certificate of
registration and deposit for which the prescribed fee
shall be collected. If, within three weeks after receipt by
the copyright owner of a written demand from the
director for such deposit, the required copies or
reproductions are not delivered and the fee is not paid,
the copyright owner shall be liable to pay to the
National Library the amount of the retail price of the
best edition of the work.
With or without a demand from the director, a
copyright owner who has not made such deposit shall
not be entitled to recover damages in an infringement
suit and shall be limited to the other remedies specified
in Sec. 23 of this Decree.
Sec. 27. Each copy of a work published or offered for
sale shall contain a notice bearing the name of the
copyright owner, the year of its first publication, and, in
copies produced after the creator's death, the year of
such death.
Failure to comply with the requirements of this section
shall result in the limitation of remedies in the next
preceding section.
Article. VI
Infringement
Sec. 28. Any person infringing a copyright shall be liable:
(A) To an injunction restraining such infringement.
(B) To pay to the copyright proprietor or his assigns or
heirs such actual damages as he may have due to the
infringement as well as the profits the infringor may
have made due to such infringement, and in providing
profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove sales only
and the defendant shall be required to prove every
element of cost which he claims, or, in lieu of actual
damages and profits, such damages which to the court
shall appear to be just and which shall not be less than
the sum of One Thousand Pesos, and shall not be
regarded as penalty.
(C) To deliver under oath, for impounding during the
pendency of the action, upon such terms and conditions
as the court may prescribe, all articles alleged to infringe
a copyright.
(D) To deliver under oath for destruction all infringing
copies of devices, as well as all plates, molds, or other
means for making such infringing copies as the court
may order.
(E) To such other terms and conditions, including the
payment or moral and exemplary damages, which the
court may deem proper, wise and equitable.
Sec. 29. Any person infringing any copyright secured by
this Decree or aiding or abetting such infringement shall
be deemed guilty of a crime punishable by
imprisonment not exceeding one year or by fine not less
than Two Hundred Pesos or more than Two Thousand
Pesos or both, in the discretion of the court.
Sec. 30. Unless authorized by the copyright proprietor
concerned, importation into the Philippines of any
piratical copies or likeness of any work in which
Philippine copyright subsists is prohibited, except when
imported under the following circumstances;
First. When Copies of the work are not available in the
Philippines and:
(A) Not more than one copy at one time is imported for
strictly individual use only; or
(B) The importation is by authority of and for the use of
the Philippine Government; or
(C) The importation, consisting of not more than three
such copies of likeness in any one invoice, is not for sale
but for the use only of any religious, charitable, or
educational society or institution duly incorporated or
registered, or is for the encouragement of the fine arts,
or for any state school, college, university, or free public
library in the Philippines.
Second. When such copies from parts of libraries and
personal baggage belonging to persons or families
arriving from foreign countries and are not intended for
sale provided such copies do not exceed three.
Copies imported as allowed by this Section may not
lawfully be used in any way to violate the rights of the
proprietor of Philippine copyright or annul or limit the
protection secured by this Decree, and such unlawful
use shall be deemed an infringement and shall be
punishable as such without prejudice to the proprietors
right of action.
The Commissioner of Customs, subject to the approval
of the Secretary of Finance, is hereby empowered to
make rules and regulations for preventing the
importation of articles the importation of which is
prohibited under this Section and for seizing and
condemning and disposing of the same in case they are
discovered after they have been imported.
CHAPTER III
RIGHT TO PROCEEDS IN SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS
Sec. 31. In every sale or lease of an original work of
painting or sculpture or of the original manuscript of a
writer or composer, subsequent to the first disposal
thereof by the creator, the creator or his heirs shall have
an inalienable right to participate in the gross proceeds
of the sale or lease to the extent of five per centum
(5%).
This right shall exist during the lifetime of the creator
and for fifty years after his death.
Sec. 32. As a condition precedent to making a claim to
the right established in the preceding section for any
work mentioned therein, the work must be registered
in the National Library where a separate register shall
be kept for this purpose.
The creator or his heirs designate a society of artists,
writers or composers as agency to claim the right in his
or their behalf. In such case, the society shall forward
the proceeds to the creator or his heirs upon their
demand or at the end of every quarter of each calendar
year.
Sec. 33. The provisions of this Chapter shall not supply
to prints, etchings, engravings, works of applied art, or
works of similar kind wherein the creator primarily
derives gain from the proceeds of reproduction.
CHAPTER IV
MORAL RIGHTS
Sec. 34. Independently of the rights by Chapters II and
III of this Decree or the grant of an assignment or license
with respect to any of such rights, a creator shall have
the right:
(A) To make alterations of his work prior to, or to
withhold it from, publication;
(B) To require that the authorship of the works be
attributed to him;
(C) To object to any alteration of his work which is
prejudicial to his reputation;
(D) To restrain the use of his name with respect to any
work not of his own creation or in a distorted version of
his work.
Sec. 35. A creator cannot be compelled to perform his
contract to create a work or for the publication of his
work already in existence. However, he may be held
liable for damages for breach of such a contract.
Sec. 36. A creator may assign or waive his rights
mentioned in Sec. 34 of this Decree by a written
instrument expressly so stating, but no such assignment
shall be valid where its effects is to permit another:
(A) To use the name of the creator, or the title of his
work, or otherwise to make use of his reputation with
respect to any version or adaptation of his work which,
because of alterations therein, would substantially tend
to injure the literary or artistic reputation of the author;
or
(B) To use the name of the creator with respect to a
work he did not create.
Sec. 37. When a creator contributes to a collective work,
like a newspaper or an encyclopedia, his right to have
his contribution attributed to him is deemed waived
unless he expressly reserves it.
Sec. 38. In the absence of a special contract at the time
a creator licenses or permits another to use his work,
the necessary editing, arranging or adaptation of such
work, for publication, broast, use in a motion picture,
dramatization, or mechanical or electrical reproduction
in accordance with the reasonable and customary
standards or requirements of the medium in which the
work is to be used, shall not be deemed to contravene
the creator's rights secured by this chapter. Nor shall
complete destruction of a work unconditionally
transferred by the creator be deemed to violate such
rights.
Sec. 39. The rights of a creator under this chapter shall
be perpetual and imprescriptible. The person or persons
to be charged with the posthumous enforcement of
these rights shall be named in a writing to be filed with
the National Library. In default of such person or
persons, such enforcement shall devolve upon either
the creator's heirs or the Director of the National Library
acting in behalf of the heirs.
The persons named by the creator in accordance with
the foregoing paragraph or, in their absence, the
creator's heirs shall have power to make any
assignment or license of the rights provided in this
chapter which would be within the power of the creator
had he lived. If there are no heirs, the Director of the
National Library shall exercise the power.
For purposes of this Section, "Person" shall mean any
individual, partnership, corporation, association, or
society. The Director of the National Library may
prescribe reasonable fees to be charged for his services
in the application of provisions of this Section.
Sec. 40. Violation of any of the rights conferred by this
chapter shall entitle those charged with their
enforcement to the same rights and remedies available
to a copyright owner. In addition, damages which may
be availed of under the Civil Code may also be
recovered. Any damages recovered after the creator's
death shall be held in trust for and remitted to his heirs.
CHAPTER V
RIGHTS OF PERFORMERS, PRODUCERS OF SOUNDS,
RECORDINGS AND BROADCASTING ORGANIZATIONS
Article I
As used in this Chapter
Sec. 41. As used in this chapter:
(A) "Performers" mean actors, singers, musicians,
dancers, and other persons who act, sing, deliver,
declaim, play in, or otherwise perform literary or artistic
work.
(B) "Sound Recording" means any exclusively aural
fixation of sounds of a performance or of other sound.
(C) "Producer of sound records" means the person who,
or the legal entity which, first fixes a performance or
other sounds.
(D) "Publication" means the issue of offering to the
public of copies of a sound recording in reasonable
quantity.
(E) "Reproduction" means the making of a copy or
copies of a recording.
(F) "Broasting" means the transmission by wireless
means for public reception of sounds or of images and
sound.
(G) "Broasting organization" shall include a sole
proprietorship duly authorized to engage in broasting.
Article II
Performers
Sec. 42. Performers shall have the exclusive right:
(A) To record or authorize the recording of their
performance on any recording apparatus for image
and/or sound.
(B) To authorize the broasting and the communication
to the public of their performance.
(C) To prohibit the reproduction of a recording of their
performance; (i) if the original recording itself was made
without their consent; (ii) if the reproduction is made
for the purposes different from those for which the
performers gave their consent; or (iii) If the original
recording was made for any of the purposes mentioned
in Sec. 44 of the reproduction is made for a different
purpose.
Sec. 43. Performers shall have the right to decide
whether their names will be mentioned when their
performance is recorded or broast. The provisions of
chapter IV shall apply to them.
Sec. 44. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 43 of
this Decree, performers may not object to the
recording: (A) of parts of their performance to be used
in connection with the reporting of current events, or
(B) of the entirety therefor which shall be used solely for
the purpose of teaching or scientific research. The
provisions of section 12 of this Decree shall also apply
to performances. However, the provisions of this
Section shall be without prejudice to those of the next
preceding section.
Sec. 45. For infringement of any of their rights,
performers shall be entitled to;
(A) An injunction restraining such infringement;
(B) To recover such damages as may be recoverable
under the Civil Code, or, in lieu thereof, such damages
which to the court shall appear just and which shall not
be less than Three Hundred Pesos.
(C) To the remedies provided in subsections (C) and (D)
of Sec. 28 of this Decree but with respect only to
recordings of their performances and devises for
making such recordings.
Article III
Producers of sound recordings
Sec. 46. Producers of sound recordings shall have the
exclusive right to authorize or prohibit the direct or
indirect reproduction of their recordings and the placing
of these reproductions in the market.
Sec. 47. When a sound recording is used with the
intention of making or enhancing profit, the producer of
the recording has the right to a fair remuneration from
the user.
Sec. 48. The producer of a sound recording may also
forbid any use of this recording which would cause
serious and unwarranted damage to his industrial
interests.
Sec. 49. There shall be indicated in each copy of a sound
recording the title of the work recorded, the name of
the author and, subject to section 43 of this Decree of
the principal performers and the date of manufacture.
Sec. 50. Within one month after its manufacture, two
copies of a sound recording shall be deposited, by
personal delivery or by mail, with the National Library.
Upon such deposit, the Director shall issue to the
producer a certificate under the seal of the library
indicating the fact and date of such deposit. This
certificate shall constitute a prima facie evidence of the
facts stated therein.
Article IV
Broasting organizations
Sec. 52. Broasting organizations shall enjoy the
exclusive right:
(A) To relay by wire or rebroast their broasts.
(B) To record in any manner, including the making of
cinematographic films or the use of video tape, their
broasts for the purpose of making profit;
(c) To use such records for fresh transmissions or for
fresh recording.
Sec. 53. The provisions of immediately preceding
section shall not include the right to prohibit recording
or broasts for strictly private use or solely for the
purpose of teaching or scientific research.
Sec. 54. A broasting organization, when any of its rights
secured herein is infringed, shall be entitled:
(A) To have such infringement enjoined.
(B) To recover such damages as may be awarded under
the Civil Code.
(C) The remedies provided in subsections (C) and (D) of
section 28 of this Decree but with respect only to
unauthorized recordings of its broasts and devices for
making such recordings.
Article V
Term of Protection
Sec. 55. The rights granted under this chapter shall
expire after twenty years from the end of the year in
which:
(A) The performance took place for performances not
incorporated in recordings;
(B) The recording was made for sound or image and
sound recordings and for performances incorporated
therein;
Article VI
Penalty
Sec. 56. The prohibition and penalties provided in
section 29 shall apply to infringement of any of the
rights granted in this chapter.
CHAPTER VII
INSTITUTION OF ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
Sec. 27. All actions, suits and proceedings shall,
regardless of the amount involved, be originally
cognizable by Courts of First Instance.
Sec. 58. No damages may be recovered under this
Decree after four years from the time the cause of
action arose.
Sec. 59. Appeals shall be governed by the Rules of Court.
CHAPTER VIII
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 60. All copies deposited and instruments in writing
filed with the National Library in accordance with the
provisions of this Decree shall become the property of
the Government.
Sec. 61. The section or divisions of the National Library
charged with receiving copies and instruments
deposited and with keeping records required under this
Decree and everything in it shall be opened to public
inspection subject to such safeguards and regulations as
may be prescribed by director of the library.
Sec. 62. The National Library shall collect the following
fees:
(A) For the issuance of a certificate of deposit of copies
of a work, five pesos;
(B) For each assignment, license, notice or other written
instrument filed, ten pesos;
(C) For other services, in such amount as he may fix by
regulation, provided, that single fee shall exceed ten
pesos.
CHAPTER IX
FINAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 63. The provisions of this Decree shall apply to
works in which copyright protection obtained prior to
the effectivity of this Decree is subsisting: Provided,
That the application of this Decree shall not result in the
dimunition of such protection.
Sec. 64. Act No. 3134, or otherwise known as the
"Copyright Law of the Philippine Islands", and all laws or
provisions of law, orders or regulations inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed.
This Decree shall take effect 15 days after publication in
the Official Gazette.
Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of November,
in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-
two.
2. Presidential Decree No. 1988 (amended by PD 49 by
inserting Section 56)
AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 1988
WHEREAS, piracy and counterfeiting of audio and
audio-visual products have become rampant, resulting
in serious financial prejudice to the film and recording
industries, and the loss of substantial tax revenues to
the Government;
WHEREAS, it is imperative for the survival and
protection of the film and recording industries that
certain provisions of Presidential Decree No. 49,
otherwise known as “Decree on Intellectual Property,”
be amended for the purpose of lengthening the period
within which a producer of a sound recording must
deposit two copies thereof with the National Library,
and prescribing stiffer penalties for piracy of sound
recordings and motion pictures or other audio-visual
works;
WHEREAS, the current crisis in the movie industry
amounts to a grave emergency affecting the economic
stability of the nation and the livelihood of hundreds of
thousands of families and workers dependent on the
industry;
WHEREAS, the issuance of this Decree will help in the
national economic recovery program designed to meet
the emergency facing the industry;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President
of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me
by the Constitution, do hereby decree:
SECTION 1. Section 50 of Presidential Decree No. 49 is
hereby amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 50. Within six (6) months after its manufacture,
two copies of a sound recording shall be deposited, by
personal delivery or by mail, with the National Library.
Upon such deposit, the Director shall issue to the
producer a certificate under the seal of the library
indicating the fact and date of such deposit. This
certificate shall constitute a prima facie evidence of the
facts stated therein.”
SEC. 2. Section 56 of Presidential Decree No. 49 is
hereby amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 56. The prohibition and penalties provided in
Section 29 shall apply to infringement of any of the
rights granted in this Chapter; Provided, however, That
the mandatory penalty of imprisonment of not less than
three (3) months and one (1) day to not more than one
(1) year, plus a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Pesos
but not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos, shall
be imposed upon any person who shall:
(1) Transfer or cause to be transferred, directly or
indirectly, any sound recording or motion picture, or
other audio-visual work that has been recorded on a
phonograph record, disc, wire, tape, film or other article
on which sounds, motion pictures, or other audio-visual
works are recorded, with intent to sell, lease, publicly
exhibit or cause to be sold, leased or publicly exhibited,
or to use or cause to be used for profit, such article on
which sounds, motion pictures, or other audio-visual
works are so transferred, without the written consent
of the owner or his assignee; or
(2) Sell, lease, distribute, circulate, publicly exhibit, offer
for sale, lease, distribution, or possess for the purpose
of sale, lease, distribution, circulation or public
exhibition, any such article to which sounds, motion
pictures or audio-visual recordings thereon have been
so transferred, without the written consent of the
owner or his assignee; or
(3) Offer or make available for a fee, rental or any other
form of compensation, directly or indirectly, any
equipment, machinery, paraphernalia or any material
with the knowledge that such equipment, machinery,
paraphernalia or material will be used by another to
reproduce, without the consent of the owner, any
phonograph record, disc, wire, tape, film or other article
on which sounds, motion pictures, or other audio-visual
recordings may be transferred;
For purposes of this Act, public exhibition shall cover
any exhibition wherein fifteen (15) or more persons are
present, for monetary or promotional considerations.
Private clubs are likewise herein included.”
SEC. 3. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules,
regulations, and other enactments, or parts thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree, are
hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SEC. 4. This Decree shall take effect after fifteen (15)
days following its publication in the Official Gazette.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 5th day of October, in
the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-five.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE (took effect on Jan.
1, 1998.
B. LAW ON COPYRIGHT
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE
 Section 241. Effectivity. - This Act shall take
effect on 1 January 1998.
 Section 239.3. The provisions of this Act shall
apply to works in which copyright protection
obtained prior to the effectivity of this Act is
subsisting: Provided, That the application of this
Act shall not result in the diminution of such
protection.
 Section 236. Preservation of Existing Rights. -
Nothing herein shall adversely affect the rights
on the enforcement of rights in patents, utility
models, industrial designs, marks and works,
acquired in good faith prior to the effective date
of this Act.
1. Definition of Copyright
Section 177. Copyright or Economic Rights. - Subject to
the provisions of Chapter VIII, copyright or economic
rights shall consist of the exclusive right to carry out,
authorize or prevent the following acts:
177.1. Reproduction of the work or substantial portion
of the work;
177.2. Dramatization, translation, adaptation,
abridgment, arrangement or other transformation of
the work;
177.3. The first public distribution of the original and
each copy of the work by sale or other forms of transfer
of ownership;
177.4. Rental of the original or a copy of an audiovisual
or cinematographic work, a work embodied in a sound
recording, a computer program, a compilation of data
and other materials or a musical work in graphic form,
irrespective of the ownership of the original or the copy
which is the subject of the rental; (n)
177.5. Public display of the original or a copy of the
work;
177.6. Public performance of the work; and
177.7. Other communication to the public of the work.
(Sec. 5, P. D. No. 49a)
PHILIPPINES
COPYRIGHT SAFEGUARDS AND REGULATIONS
Rule 2 Definition of Terms
For the purpose of these Copyright Safeguards and
Regulations, the following terms are herein
defined:
Author is the natural person who has created the work;
Collective work is work which has been created by two
(2) or more natural persons at the initiative and under
the direction of another with the understanding that it
will be disclosed by the latter under his own name and
that contributing natural persons will not be identified;
Communication to the public or communicate to the
public means the making of a work available to the
public by wire or wireless means in such a way that
members of the public may access these works from a
place and time individually chosen by them;
Computer program is a set of instructions capable,
when incorporated in machine-readable medium, of
causing a machine having information-processing
capabilities, to indicate, perform, or achieve a particular
function, task, or result;
Copyright is a right granted by statute to the author or
originator of literary, scholarly, scientific, or artistic
productions, including computer programs. A copyright
gives him the legal right to determine how the work is
used and to obtain economic benefits from the work.
For example, the owner of a copyright for a book or a
piece of software has the exclusive rights to use, copy,
distribute, and sell copies of the work, including later
editions or versions of the work. If another person
improperly uses material covered by a copyright, the
copyright owner can obtain legal relief;
Copyright Office refers to the Copyright Division of the
National Library;
Copyright symbol is represented by ©;
Date of Publication is the earliest date when a copy of
the first authorized edition of the work was placed on
sale, sold, distributed, or otherwise made available to
the public, by the copyright owner or his representative;
Decompilation means the reproduction of the code and
the translation of the forms of a computer program to
achieve the inter-operability of an independently-
created computer program with other programs;
Exhibition of an audiovisual work means any form of
exploitation of a work, including its distribution in
copies, its public performance, and its communication
to the public, including broadcast or rebroadcast, cable
retransmission, or satellite broadcast or transmission;
Fee refers to the amount prescribed by The National
Library for the issuance of a Certificate of Registration
and Deposit to claim copyright or for the filing of
assignment or license, or for such other services or
transactions as may be covered by these Copyright
Safeguards and Regulations;
Performance symbol is represented by p;
Public lending is the transfer of possession of the
original or a copy of a work or multimedia for a limited
period, for non-profit purposes, by an institution the
services of which are available to the public, such as a
public library or archive;
Public performance is the recitation, playing, dancing,
acting or any performance of the work, either directly
or by means of any device or process; in the case of an
audiovisual work, the broadcast or showing of its
images in sequence and the making of the sounds
accompanying it audible; and in the case of a sound
recording, the making of the recorded sounds audible at
a place or at places where persons outside the normal
circle of a family and that family’s closed social
acquaintances are or can be present, irrespective of
whether they are or can be present at the same place
and at the same time, or at different places and/or
different times, and where the performance can be
perceived without the need for communication within
the meaning of “communication to the public” defined
above;
Published work means work which, with the consent of
the author, is made available to the public by wire or
wireless means in such a way that members of the
public may access the work from a place and time
individually chosen by them: Provided, That availability
of such copies has been such as to satisfy the reasonable
requirements of the public, having regard to the nature
of the work; Publisher is one who produces and makes
available for circulation or distribution the published
work;
Rental is the transfer of the possession of the original or
a copy of a work or multimedia for a limited period of
time, for profit-making purposes;
Reproduction is the making of one (1) or more copies of
a work, including multimedia, in any manner or form. A
reprographic reproduction, as authorized under certain
circumstances by the IPC, does not include a digital or
machine-readable copy, but is limited to photography,
xerography and similar processes, resulting in a paper
or microform copy;
Reprographic right is one exercisable anywhere to
reproduce or authorize the reproduction of the work by
means of any appliance or process capable of producing
multiple copies of the work in such a form that the work
may be perceived visually. Reprography and other
forms of reproduction require the permission of the
copyright holder;
SAR shall refer to these Copyright Safeguards and
Regulations issued pursuant to the IPC;
SCL refers to the Library of the Supreme Court of the
Republic of the Philippines;
TNL refers to The National Library of the Republic of the
Philippines;
TNL Director refers to the head of The National Library
of the Republic of the Philippines;
Unpublished work means work that has not been
disseminated, circulated or distributed to the public
prior to its registration with the Copyright Office;
Work refers to any original work, derivative work,
performance of producers, sound recording, or
recording of broadcasting organizations. Derivative
work is work that is derived from another work;
Work of Applied Art is an artistic creation with utilitarian
functions, or incorporated in a useful article, whether
made by hand or produced on an industrial scale;
Work of the Government of the Philippines is work
created by an officer or employee of the Philippine
Government or any of its subdivisions and
instrumentalities, including government-owned or
controlled corporations, as part of his regularly
prescribed official duties.
Rule 11 -12 Copyright Safeguards and Regulations
Rule 11 Communication to the Public of Copyrighted
Works
SECTION 1. Communication to the Public of Copyrighted
Work. — “Communication to the public” or
“communicate to the public,” also includes point-to-
point transmission of a work, including video on
demand, and providing access to an electronic retrieval
system, such as computer databases, servers, or similar
electronic storage devices. Broadcasting,
rebroadcasting, retransmission by cable, and broadcast
and retransmission by satellite are all acts of
“communication to the public” within the meaning of
the IPC.
Rule 12 First Public Distribution of Work
SECTION 1. First Public Distribution of Work. — An
exclusive right of first distribution of work includes all
acts involving distribution, specifically including the first
importation of an original and each copy of the work
into the jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines.
2. STANDARDS FOR COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
Section 172. Literary and Artistic Works. - 172.1.
Literary and artistic works, hereinafter referred to as
"works", are original intellectual creations in the literary
and artistic domain protected from the moment of their
creation and shall include in particular:
(a) Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;
(b) Periodicals and newspapers;
(c) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations
prepared for oral delivery, whether or not reduced in
writing or other material form;
(d) Letters;
(e) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions;
choreographic works or entertainment in dumb shows;
(f) Musical compositions, with or without words;
(g) Works of drawing, painting, architecture,
sculpture, engraving, lithography or other works of art;
models or designs for works of art;
(h) Original ornamental designs or models for
articles of manufacture, whether or not registrable as
an industrial design, and other works of applied art;
(i) Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and
three-dimensional works relative to geography,
topography, architecture or science;
(j) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or
technical character;
(k) Photographic works including works produced
by a process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
(l) Audiovisual works and cinematographic works
and works produced by a process analogous to
cinematography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings;
(m) Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;
(n) Computer programs; and
(o) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic
works.
172.2. Works are protected by the sole fact of their
creation, irrespective of their mode or form of
expression, as well as of their content, quality and
purpose. (Sec. 2, P.D. No. 49a)
Wilson Ong Ching Kian Chuan v CA
[G.R. No. 130360. August 15, 2001]
QUISUMBING, J.
FACTS:
Petitioner imports vermicelli from China National
Cereals Oils and Foodstuffs, based in Beijing, China,
under the firm name C.K.C. Trading. He repacks it in
cellophane wrappers with a design of two-dragons and
the TOWER trademark on the uppermost portion.
Ong acquired a Certificate of Copyright Registration
from the National Library on June 9, 1993 on the said
design.
Ong filed against Tan a verified complaint for
infringement of copyright with damages and prayer for
temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary
injunction with the RTC-QC.
Ong alleged that he was the holder of a Certificate of
Copyright Registration over the cellophane wrapper
with the two-dragon design, and that Tan used an
identical wrapper in his business. In his prayer for a
preliminary injunction in addition to damages, he asked
that Tan be restrained from using the wrapper.
Tan filed an opposition alleging that Ong was not
entitled to an injunction.
According to Tan, Ong did not have a clear right over the
use of the trademark Pagoda and Lungkow vermicelli as
these were registered in the name of Ceroilfood
Shandong, based in Qingdao, China.
Further, Tan averred that he was the exclusive
distributor in the Philippines of the Pagoda and
Lungkow vermicelli and was solely authorized to use
said trademark.
He added that Ong merely copied the two-dragon
design from Ceroilfood Shandong which had the
Certificates of Registration issued by different
countries.
Private respondent alleges that the trademark PAGODA
BRAND was registered in China on October 31, 1979
while the trademark LUNGKOW VERMICELLI WITH
TWO-DRAGON DEVICE was registered on August 15,
1985.
Trial Court issued a temporary restraining order on the
same date the complaint was filed. It likewise issued the
writ in Ong’s favor upon his filing of a P100,000.00 bond.
CA gave due course and granted the petition. The lower
court’s orders, as well as the writ of preliminary
injunction, were set aside. Ong filed a MR from which
CA modified its decision and made the injunction
permanent.
ISSUE:
W/N the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction
in favor of private respondent was proper?
HELD:
Petition is partially granted. The prayer for a writ of
preliminary injunction to prohibit Tan from using the
cellophane wrapper with two-dragon device is denied,
but the finding of the respondent appellate court that
Ong’s copyrighted wrapper is a copy of that of
Ceroilfood Shandong is SET ASIDE for being premature.
Case was remanded to RTC.
RATIO:
A person to be entitled to a copyright must be the
original creator of the work. He must have created it by
his own skill, labor and judgment without directly
copying or evasively imitating the work of another. The
copies of the certificates of copyright registered in the
name of Ceroilfood Shandong sufficiently raise
reasonable doubt. With such a doubt, the preliminary
injunction asked by Ong against Tan is unavailing.
To be entitled to an injunctive writ, petitioner must
show, inter alia, the existence of a clear and
unmistakable right and an urgent and paramount
necessity for the writ to prevent serious damage. In this
case, the Court found that petitioner’s right has not
been clearly and unmistakably demonstrated.
The Court added it was premature for the CA to declare
that the design of petitioner’s wrapper is a copy of the
wrapper allegedly registered by Ceroilfood Shandong.
The only issue brought before the CA involved the grave
abuse of discretion allegedly committed by the trial
court in granting the writ of preliminary injunction, and
not on the merits of the infringement case. That matter
remains for decision after appropriate proceedings at
the trial court.
VENANCIO SAMBAR, doing business under the name
and style of CVS Garment Enterprises vs. LEVI STRAUSS
& CO., LEVI STRAUSS (PHIL.), INC. 378 SCRA 364 (2002)
FACTS:
Private respondents alleged in their complaint that Levi
Strauss and Co. (LS&Co.), an internationally known
clothing manufacturer, own the arcuate design
trademark which was registered under US Trademark
Registration No. 404,248 on November 16, 1943. That
sometime in 1987, CVSGIC and Venancio Sambar,
without the consent and authority of private
respondents and in infringement and unfair
competition, sold and advertised, and despite demands
to cease and desist, continued to manufacture, sell and
advertise denim, pants under the brand name
“Europress” with back pockets bearing a design similar
to the arcuate trademark of private respondents,
thereby causing confusion on the buying public,
prejudiced to private respondent’s goodwill and
property right.
Sambar filed a separate answer. He admitted that
copyright Registration No. 1-1998 was issued to him,
but he denied using it. He said he did not authorize
anyone to use the copyrighted design.
Trial court issued a writ of preliminary injunction
enjoining CVSGIC and petitioner from manufacturing,
advertising and selling pants with the arcuate design on
their back pockets.
Private respondents moved for reconsideration praying
for the cancellation of petitioner’s copyright
registration.
Trial court granted the prayer.
Petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals which
affirmed the ruling of the trial court.
ISSUE:
Whether petitioner infringe on private respondent’s
arcuate design.
HELD:
To be entitled to a copyright, the thing being
copyrighted must be original, created by the author
through his own skill, labor and judgment, without
directly copying or evasively imitating the work of
another.
Both the trail court and the Court of Appeals found
there was infringement.
3. When Does Copyright Vest?
Santos vs McCullough Printing Company 12 SCRA 321
Facts:
This is an action for damages based on the provisions of
Articles 721 and 722 of the Civil Code of the Philippines,
allegedly on the unauthorized use, adoption and
appropriation by the defendant company of plaintiff's
intellectual creation or artistic design for a Christmas
Card. The design depicts "a Philippine rural Christmas
time scene consisting of a woman and a child in a nipa
hut adorned with a star-shaped lantern and a man
astride a carabao, beside a tree, underneath which
appears the plaintiff's pen name, Malang."
The complaint alleges that plaintiff Mauro Malang
Santos designed for former Ambassador Felino Neri, for
his personal Christmas Card greetings for the year 1959,
the artistic motif in question. The following year the
defendant McCullough Printing Company, without the
knowledge and authority of plaintiff, displayed the very
design in its album of Christmas cards and offered it for
sale, for a price. For such unauthorized act of defendant,
plaintiff suffered moral damages to the tune of
P16,000.00, because it has placed plaintiff's
professional integrity and ethics under serious question
and caused him grave embarrassment before
Ambassador Neri. He further prayed for the additional
sum of P3,000.00 by way of attorney's fee.
Issue:
Whether Santos is entitled for protection,
notwithstanding the fact that he has not copyrighted his
design.
Ruling:
No.
The lower court dismisses the complaint which
the Supreme Court affirmed.
Santos did not choose to protect his intellectual
creation by a copyright. The fact that the design was
used in the Christmas card of Ambassador Neri who
distributed 800 copies thereof among his friends during
the Christmas season of 1959, shows the same was
published.
Unless satisfactorily explained a delay in applying
for a copyright, of more than 30 days from the date of
its publication, converts the property to one of public
domain.
Since the name of the author appears in each of
the alleged infringing copies of intellectual creation, the
defendant may not be said to have pirated the work nor
guilty of plagiarism. Consequently, the complaint does
not state a cause of action against the defendant.
The Supreme Court held that Santos is not
entitled to a protection.
Rules of Practice in the Philippine Patent Office
relating to the Registration of Copyright Claims.
“An intellectual creation should be copyrighted
30 days after its publication, if made in Manila, or within
60 days if made elsewhere, failure of which renders
such creation public property.”
When the purpose is limited publication, but the
effect is general publication, irrevocable rights
thereupon become vested in the public, in consequence
of which enforcement of the restriction becomes
impossible.
Filipino Society of composers, authors and publishers,
Inc. vs Tan 148 SCRA 461
Facts:
Filipino Society is the owner of certain musical
compositions among which are the songs entitled: Dahil
Sa’yo, Sapagkat Ikaw ay Akin, Sapagkat Kami ay Tao
lamang and the Nearness of You.
Tan is the operator of a restaurant where a
combo with professional singers, hired to play and sing
musical compositions to entertain and amuse
customers therein, were playing and singing the above-
mentioned compositions without any license or
permission from the appellant to play or sing the same.
FS demanded payment of necessary license fee
but the demand was ignored, hence, they filed a
complaint for infringement of copyright against Tan.
Issue:
Whether Tan is liable for infringement of
copyright.
Ruling:
No.
The composers of the contested musical
compositions waived their rights in favor of the general
public when they allowed their intellectual creations to
become property of the public domain before applying
or the corresponding copyrights for the same.
 PRESIDENTIAL DECREE 49 - DECREE ON THE
PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Section 2. The Rights granted by this Decree shall, from
the moment of creation, subsist with respect to any of
the following classes of works:
(A) Books, including composite and encyclopedic works,
manuscripts, directories, and gazetteers;
(B) Periodicals, including pamphlets and newspapers;
(C) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations
prepared for oral delivery;
(D) Letters;
(E) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions;
choreographic works and entertainments in dumb
shows, the acting form of which is fixed in writing or
otherwise;
(F) Musical compositions, with or without words;
(G) Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture,
engraving, lithography, and other works of art; models
or designs for works of art;
(H) Reproductions of a work of art;
(I) Original ornamental designs or models for articles of
manufacture, whether or not patentable, and other
works of applied art;
(J) Maps, plans, sketches, and charts;
(K) Drawings, or plastic works of a scientific or technical
character;
(L) Photographic works and works produced by a
process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
(M) Cinematographic works and works produced by a
process analogous to cinematography or any process
for making audio-visual recordings;
(N) Computer programs;
(O) Prints, pictorial, illustration, advertising copies,
labels, tags, and box wraps;
(P) Dramatization, translations, adaptations,
abridgements, arrangements and other alterations of
literary, musical or artistic works or of works of the
Philippine Government as herein defined, which shall
be protected as provided in Section 8 of this Decree.
(Q) Collection of literary, scholarly, or artistic works or
of works referred to in Section 9 of this Decree which by
reason of the selection and arrangement of their
contents constitute intellectual creations, the same to
be protected as such in accordance with Section 8 of this
Decree.
(R) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.
  Republic Act No. 8293 – Intellectual Property
Code
ORIGINAL WORKS
Section 172. Literary and Artistic Works. - 172.1.
Literary and artistic works, hereinafter referred to as
"works", are original intellectual creations in the literary
and artistic domain protected from the moment of their
creation and shall include in particular:
(a) Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;
(b) Periodicals and newspapers;
(c) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations
prepared for oral delivery, whether or not reduced in
writing or other material form;
(d) Letters;
(e) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions;
choreographic works or entertainment in dumb shows;
(f) Musical compositions, with or without words;
(g) Works of drawing, painting, architecture,
sculpture, engraving, lithography or other works of art;
models or designs for works of art;
(h) Original ornamental designs or models for
articles of manufacture, whether or not registrable as
an industrial design, and other works of applied art;
(i) Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and
three-dimensional works relative to geography,
topography, architecture or science;
(j) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or
technical character;
(k) Photographic works including works produced
by a process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
(l) Audiovisual works and cinematographic works
and works produced by a process analogous to
cinematography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings;
(m) Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;
(n) Computer programs; and
(o) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic
works.
172.2. Works are protected by the sole fact of their
creation, irrespective of their mode or form of
expression, as well as of their content, quality and
purpose. (Sec. 2, P.D. No. 49a)
 Copyright Safeguards and Regulations - Rule 7
Effectivity and Effects of Registration and
Deposit.
SECTION 2. Effects of Registration and Deposit of Work.
— The registration and deposit of the work
is purely for recording the date of registration and
deposit of the work and shall not be conclusive as
to copyright ownership or the term of copyrights or the
rights of the copyright owner, including
neighboring rights.
SECTION 3. Effect of Non-Registration and Deposit. — If,
within three (3) weeks after receipt by the copyright
owner of a written demand from TNL and/or SCL for the
deposit of a work listed in Rule 5. Sec. 4 of this SAR, the
required copies are not delivered and the fee for
registration and deposit is not paid, the copyright
owner, his assignee, or his agent shall be liable to pay a
fine equivalent to the required fee per month of delay
and to pay to TNL and SCL the amount of the retail price
of the best edition of the work.
SECTION 4. Other Laws. — Upon issuance of a
certificate of deposit, the copyright owner shall be
exempt from making additional deposits of the work
with TNL or the SCL under other laws.
4. SCOPE OF COPYRIGHT
 Republic Act No. 8293 – Intellectual Property
Code
ORIGINAL WORKS
Section 172. Literary and Artistic Works. - 172.1.
Literary and artistic works, hereinafter referred to as
"works", are original intellectual creations in the literary
and artistic domain protected from the moment of their
creation and shall include in particular:
(a) Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;
(b) Periodicals and newspapers;
(c) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations
prepared for oral delivery, whether or not reduced in
writing or other material form;
(d) Letters;
(e) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions;
choreographic works or entertainment in dumb shows;
(f) Musical compositions, with or without words;
(g) Works of drawing, painting, architecture,
sculpture, engraving, lithography or other works of art;
models or designs for works of art;
(h) Original ornamental designs or models for
articles of manufacture, whether or not registrable as
an industrial design, and other works of applied art;
(i) Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and
three-dimensional works relative to geography,
topography, architecture or science;
(j) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or
technical character;
(k) Photographic works including works produced
by a process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
(l) Audiovisual works and cinematographic works
and works produced by a process analogous to
cinematography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings;
(m) Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;
(n) Computer programs; and
(o) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic
works.
172.2. Works are protected by the sole fact of their
creation, irrespective of their mode or form of
expression, as well as of their content, quality and
purpose. (Sec. 2, P.D. No. 49a)
CHAPTER III
DERIVATIVE WORKS
Section 173. Derivative Works. - 173.1. The following
derivative works shall also be protected by copyright:
(a) Dramatizations, translations, adaptations,
abridgments, arrangements, and other alterations of
literary or artistic works; and
(b) Collections of literary, scholarly or artistic
works, and compilations of data and other materials
which are original by reason of the selection or
coordination or arrangement of their contents. (Sec. 2,
[P] and [Q], P.D. No. 49)
173.2. The works referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b)
of Subsection 173.1 shall be protected as new works:
Provided however, That such new work shall not affect
the force of any subsisting copyright upon the original
works employed or any part thereof, or be construed to
imply any right to such use of the original works, or to
secure or extend copyright in such original works. (Sec.
8, P.D. 49; Art. 10, TRIPS)
Section 174. Published Edition of Work. - In addition to
the right to publish granted by the author, his heirs, or
assigns, the publisher shall have a copyright consisting
merely of the right of reproduction of the typographical
arrangement of the published edition of the work.
CHAPTER IV
WORKS NOT PROTECTED
Section 175. Unprotected Subject Matter. -
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 172 and
173, no protection shall extend, under this law, to any
idea, procedure, system, method or operation, concept,
principle, discovery or mere data as such, even if they
are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in a
work; news of the day and other miscellaneous facts
having the character of mere items of press
information; or any official text of a legislative,
administrative or legal nature, as well as any official
translation thereof (n)
Section 176. Works of the Government. - 176.1. No
copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government
of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the
government agency or office wherein the work is
created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work
for profit. Such agency or office may, among other
things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties.
No prior approval or conditions shall be required for the
use of any purpose of statutes, rules and regulations,
and speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses, and
dissertations, pronounced, read or rendered in courts of
justice, before administrative agencies, in deliberative
assemblies and in meetings of public character. (Sec. 9,
first par., P.D. No. 49)
176.2. The author of speeches, lectures, sermons,
addresses, and dissertations mentioned in the
preceding paragraphs shall have the exclusive right of
making a collection of his works. (n)
176.3. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the
Government is not precluded from receiving and
holding copyrights transferred to it by assignment,
bequest or otherwise; nor shall publication or
republication by the Government in a public document
of any work in which copyright is subsisting be taken to
cause any abridgment or annulment of the copyright or
to authorize any use or appropriation of such work
without the consent of the copyright owner. (Sec. 9,
third par., P.D. No. 49)
FRANCISCO G. JOAQUIN, JR. and BJ PRODUCTIONS,
INC. vs. HONORABLE RANKLIN M. DRILON, GABRIEL
ZOSA, WILLIAM ESPOSO, FELIPE MEDINA, JR., and
CASEY FRANCISCO
FACTS:
Petitioner BJ Productions, Inc. (BJPI) is the holder /
grantee of Certificate of Copyright No. M922, dated
January 28, 1971, of Rhoda and Me, a dating game show
aired from 1970 to 1977.
On June 28, 1973, petitioner BJPI submitted to the
National Library an addendum to its certificate of
copyright specifying the show’s format and style of
presentation.
Upon complaint of petitioners, information for violation
of PD No. 49 was filed against private respondent Zosa
together with certain officers of RPN 9 for airing It’s a
Date. It was assigned to Branch 104 of RTC Quezon City.
Zosa sought review of the resolution of the Assistant
City Prosecutor before the Department of Justice.
On August 12, 1992, respondent Secretary of Justice
Franklin M. Drilon reversed the Assistant City
Prosecutor’s findings and directed him to move for the
dismissal of the case against private respondents.
Petitioner Joaquin filed motion for reconsideration but
such was denied.
ISSUE:
Whether the format or mechanics or petitioner’s
television show is entitled to copyright protection.
HELD:
The Court ruled that the format of the show is not
copyrightable. Sec. 2 of PD No. 49, otherwise known as
the Decree on Intellectual Property, enumerates the
classes of work entitled to copyright protection. The
provision is substantially the same as Sec. 172 of the
Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293).
The format or mechanics of a television show is not
included in the list of protected works in Sec. 2 of PD No.
49. For this reason, the protection afforded by the law
cannot be extended to cover them.
Copyright, in the strict sense of the term, is purely a
statutory right. It is a new independent right granted by
the statute and not simply a pre-existing right regulated
by the statute. Being a statutory grant, the rights are
only such as the statute confers, and may be obtained
and enjoyed only with respect to the subjects and by the
person and on terms and conditions specified in the
statute.
The Court is of the opinion that petitioner BJPI’s
copyright covers audio-visual recordings of each
episode of Rhoda and Me, as falling within the class of
works mentioned in PD 49.
The copyright does not extend to the general concept
or format of its dating game show.
Mere description by words of the general format of the
two dating game shows is insufficient; the presentation
of the master videotape in evidence was indispensable
to the determination of the existence of a probable
cause.
A television show includes more than mere words can
describe because it involves a whole spectrum of visuals
and effects, video and audio, such that no similarity or
dissimilarity may be found by merely describing the
general copyright / format of both dating game shows.
United Feature Syndicate vs. Musingwear
Facts:
Petitioner is asking for the cancellation of the
registration of trademark CHARLIE BROWN
(Registration No. SR. 4224) in the name of respondent
MUNSINGWEAR, alleging that petitioner is damaged by
the registration of the trademark CHARLIE BROWN of T-
Shirts under Class 25 with the Registration No. SR-4224
dated September 12, 1979 in the name of Munsingwear
Creation Manufacturing Co., Inc., on the following
grounds: (1) that respondent was not entitled to the
registration of the mark CHARLIE BROWN, & DEVICE at
the time of application for registration; (2) that CHARLIE
BROWN is a character creation or a pictorial illustration,
the copyright to which is exclusively owned worldwide
by the petitioner; (3) that as the owner of the pictorial
illustration CHARLIE BROWN, petitioner has since 1950
and continuously up to the present, used and
reproduced the same to the exclusion of others; (4) that
the respondent-registrant has no bona fide use of the
trademark in commerce in the Philippines prior to its
application for registration.
Respondent’s claim: It uses, the trademark "CHARLIE
BROWN" & "DEVICE" on children's wear such as T-shirts,
undershirts, sweaters, brief and sandos, in class 25;
whereas "CHARLIE BROWN" is used only by petitioner
as character, in a pictorial illustration used in a comic
strip appearing in newspapers and magazines. It has no
trademark significance and therefore respondent
registrant's use of "CHARLIE BROWN" & "DEVICE" is not
in conflict with the petitioner's use of "CHARLIE
BROWN" -Relied on the ruling on October 2, 1984 in
which the Director of the Philippine Patent Office
rendered a decision in this case holding that a copyright
registration like that of the name and likeness of
CHARLIE BROWN may not provide a cause of action for
the cancellation of a trademark registration.
Issue:
WHETHER THE RESPONDENT COURT OF APPEALS
COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION
AMOUNTING TO EXCESS OF JURISDICTION WHEN BY
DISMISSING THE APPEAL TO IT FROM THE DECISION OF
THE DIRECTOR OF PATENTS, IT KNOWINGLY
DISREGARDED ITS OWN DECISION IN AC-GR. SP. NO.
0342, WHICH WAS AFFIRMED BY THIS HONORABLE
SUPREME COURT TO THE EFFECT THAT A COPYRIGHTED
CHARACTER MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATED AS A
TRADEMARK BY ANOTHER UNDER PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO. 49.
Ruling:
The petitioner is impressed with merit. Since the name
"CHARLIE BROWN" and its pictorial representation were
covered by a copyright registration way back in 1950 the expression that could be protected, only facts, meets
same are entitled to protection under PD No. 49, the constitutional minimum for copyright protection if
otherwise known as the "Decree on Intellectual it features an original selection or arrangement. But,
Property". Aside from its copyright registration, even though the format is original, the facts themselves
petitioner is also the owner of several trademark do not become original through association. The
registrations and application for the name and likeness copyright on a factual compilation is limited to
of "CHARLIE BROWN" which is the duly registered formatting. The copyright does not extend to the facts
trademark and copyright of petitioner United Feature themselves.
Syndicate Inc. as early as 1957 and additionally also as
TV SPECIALS featuring the "PEANUTS" characters To establish copyright infringement, two elements must
"CHARLIE BROWN”. It is undeniable from the records be proven: ownership of a valid copyright and copying
that petitioner is the actual owner of said trademark of constituent elements of the work that are original.
due to its prior registration with the Patent's Office. The first element is met in this case because the
directory contains some forward text. As to the second
FEIST PUBLICATIONS, INC. V. RURAL TEL. SERVICE CO. element, the information contains facts, which cannot
499 US 340 be copyrighted. They existed before being reported and
would have continued to exist if a telephone directory
Facts: had never been published. There is no originality in the
formatting, so there is no copyrightable expression.
Rural Telephone Service Company, Inc. (Plaintiff) Thus, there is no copyright infringement.
provides telephone service to several communities. Due
to a state regulation, it must issue an annual telephone
directory, so it published a directory consisting of white
and yellow pages. The yellow pages have
advertisements that generate revenue. Feist
Publications, Inc. (Defendant) is a publishing company
whose directory covers a larger range than a typical
directory. Defendant distributes their telephone books
free of charge, and they also generate revenue through
the advertising in the yellow pages. Plaintiff refused to
give a license to Defendant for the phone numbers in
the area, so Defendant used them without Plaintiff’s
consent. Rural sued for copyright infringement.

Issue:
Are the names, addresses, and phone numbers in a
telephone directory able to be copyrighted?

Held:
No.
Facts cannot be copyrighted, however compilations of
facts can generally be copyrighted.

To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be

original to the author, which means that the work was
independently created by the author, and it possesses
at least some minimal degree of creativity. A work may
be original even thought it closely resembles other
works so long as the similarity is fortuitous, not the
result of copying.

Facts are not original. The first person to find and report
a particular fact has not created the fact; he has merely
discovered its existence. Facts may not be copyrighted
and are part of the public domain available to every
person.

Factual compilations may possess the requisite

originality. The author chooses what facts to include, in
what order to place them, and how to arrange the
collected date so they may be effectively used by
readers. Thus, even a directory that contains no written