Philippines remains outside US list of piracy hubs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has remained out of the US government’s list of countries considered as piracy hubs.

The Office of the US Trade Representative’s Special 301 Report released Wednesday showed the country for the third straight year managed to stay out of the list which identifies countries with intellectual property rights (IPR) problems.

This year’s report reviewed 73 US trading partners, in which 34 were placed on the priority watch list or watch list.

A country’s placement on the priority watch list or watch list means there are problems on IPR protection, enforcement, or market access for persons relying on IP.

For this year, 11 countries were placed on the priority watch list namely, Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, 23 countries were on the watch list status with Switzerland as this year’s latest addition.

Other countries on the USTR’s watch list are Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The Special 301 Report is an annual review of the state of IPR protection and enforcement of US trading partners.

The Philippines has been taken out of the list in 2014 after the government enacted a series of significant legislative and regulatory reforms that enhanced the protection and enforcement of IPR in the country.

Prior to its removal in the list, the country was either part of the watch list or priority watch list since 1994.

The USTR said the US motion picture, video game, and recording industries continue to face various challenges in foreign markets that lack adequate and effective protections for IPR.

The government, through the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), has been stepping up efforts to continuously curb counterfeiting and piracy in the country.

Early this month, IPOPHL destroyed P9.3 billion worth of counterfeit goods consist of various items ranging from shirts, shoes, toys, electronic products and food seasoning.

In line with the ongoing campaign period, meanwhile, the agency is also urging the candidates and their supporters to respect the copyright of songwriters and composers.