The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT) led by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Optical Media Board (OMB) strengthened its campaign against software piracy within Metro Manila and found several unlicensed software used in businesses.
There were several companies found to be violating the law.
Software piracy is a violation of the copyright provisions of the IP code of the Philippines (RA 8293) and Optical Media Act (RA 9239) and carries with it penalties of up to nine years of imprisonment, not to mention a fine of up to 1.5 million pesos.
“Software piracy continues to negatively impact the country despite having the lowest software piracy rate in Southeast Asia. Software piracy deprives the economy of hundreds of millions of pesos in businesses that have lost revenues due to uncollected taxes. It also deprives the people of thousands of job opportunities which could have lessened the current unemployment rate in the country,” said IPOPHL Deputy Director General Allan Gepty.
The PAPT, formed in 2005, is comprised of the National Bureau of Investigation, OMB, Philippine National Police and the IPOPHL, which joined the group in 2011. Its aim is to undertake an integrated and coordinated effort by the government to counteract the negative effects of software piracy on the local IT industry and the economy.
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