DECREE ON THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 49
• Sections: 66

Preamble

WHEREAS, tremendous strides in science and technology have

made necessary the updating of the Copyright Law to give fuller

protection to intellectual property and to encourage arts and letters,

as well as stimulate 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 decree, order and make as part of the law of the land the

following measure:

Transfers

Recordings, and Broadcasting Organizations

ARTICLE 1.— Definition of terms

Section 1

SECTION 1. This Decree shall be known as the "Decree

on Intellectual Property."

Section 2

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:

Books, including composite and cyclopedic

works, manuscripts, directories, and gazetteers;

Periodicals, including pamphlets and newspapers;

Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral

delivery;

Letters;

Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic

works and entertainments in dumb shows, the acting form of which is

fixed in writing or otherwise;

Musical compositions, with or without words;

Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture,

engraving, lithography, and other works of art; models or designs for

works of art;

Reproductions of a work of art;

Original ornamental designs or models for articles of

manufacture, whether or not patentable, and other works of applied art;

Maps, plans, sketches, and charts;

Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical

character;

Photographic works and works produced by a process analogous

to photography; lantern slides;

Cinematographic works and works produced by a process

analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual

recordings;

Computer programs;

Prints, pictorial illustrations, advertising copies, labels,

tags, and box wraps;

Dramatizations, 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;

Collections 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;

Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.

Section 3

SEC. 3. The rights granted by this Decree shall not

be lost except in the manner specifically provided herein.

Neither shall they be subject to levy and attachment while in the

possession of the creator or his heirs.

Section 4

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.

Section 5

SEC. 5. Copyright shall consist in the exclusive

right;

To print, reprint, publish, copy, distribute,

multiply, sell, and make photographs, photo-engravings, and pictorial

illustrations of the works;

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 it if it be a model or design;

To exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or reproduce the

work in any manner or by any method whatever for profit or otherwise; if

not reproduced in copies for sale, to sell any manuscripts or any

records whatsoever thereof;

To make any other use or disposition of the work consistent

with the laws of the land.

Section 6

SEC. 6. The creator or his heirs or assigns shall

own the copyright in any of the works mentioned in Section 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:

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.

The employer, if the work is the result of the performance

of his regularly assigned duties, unless there is an agreement, express

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 in

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.

Section 7

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.

Section 8

SEC. 8. The works referred to in subsections (P) and

(O) of Section 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.

Section 9

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, lectures, sermons,

addresses, and dissertations pronounced, read or rendered in courts of

justice before administrative agencies, in deliberative assemblies, and

in meetings of character.

A "Work of the Government of the Philippines" is a 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 a part of his regularly prescribed official

duties.

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 abridgement or annulment of the

copyright or to authorize any use or appropriation of such work without

the consent of the copyright proprietor.

Section 10

SEC. 10. When a work has been lawfully made

accessible to the public, the author shall not be entitled to prohibit:

Its recitation or performance (A) if done privately and free of

charge; or (B) if made for strictly charitable or religious institution

or society;

Reproductions, translations and adaptations thereof destined

exclusively for personal and private use;

Section 11

SEC. 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 excerpts from a

work already lawfully made accessible to the public. Such quotations may

be utilized in their original form or translation.

News items, editorials, and articles on current political, social,

economic, scientific or religious topic may be reproduced by the press

or broadcast, 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 reproductions shall always be

accompanied by an acknowledgment of the source and name of the author,

if his name appears thereon.

Section 12

SEC. 12. In reports of a current event by means of

photography, cinematography or broadcasting, 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

SEC. 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 creator or proprietor, copies of a

literary or artistic work.

Material forming part of the collections mentioned in the preceding

paragraph which, by reason of their fragile character or rarity, cannot

be lent to users in its original form, may be 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,

reproductions 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 parts of magazines or similar works,

unless the volume, tome or 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

SEC. 14. If, after the expiration of five years from

the date of the first publication of a writing, a translation of such

writing has not been published in the national or other local language,

as the case may be, by 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

publisher 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.

Section 15

SEC. 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 the

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

SEC. 16. The copyright is distinct from the property

in the material object subject 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

SEC. 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

SEC. 18. If two or more persons jointly own a

copyright or any part thereof, neither of the owners shall be entitled

to grant licenses without the consent of the other owner or owners.

Section 19

SEC. 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 instruments shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or

mortgagee for a valuable consideration and without notice unless it is

recorded in the library prior to the subsequent purchase or mortgage.

Section 20

SEC. 20. When the creator of a work in which

copyright 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 Section 26 of

this Decree shall be enforced.

Section 21

SEC. 21. The copyright conferred by this Decree

shall endure 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.

Section 22

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

an 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.

Section 23

SEC. 23. In the case of posthumous works which do

not fall within the categories of the works referred to in the next two

preceding sections, the term of protection afforded to the heirs or

assignees of the creator shall end at the expiration of fifty years

after his death.

Section 24

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 of protection appropriate

to it; (B) works of applied art; (C) cinematographic or photographic

works as well as those produced by a process analogous to cinematography

or photography or any process for making audio-visual recordings.

Section 25

SEC. 25. The term of protection subsequent to the

death of the creator provided in Sections 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.

Section 26

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 Section 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 a fine equivalent to the required fee per month of delay and 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 Section 23 of this Decree.

Section 27

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 established in the next preceding section.

Section 28

SEC. 28. Any person infringing a copyright shall be

liable:

To an injunction restraining such

infringement;

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

proving 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 damage 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;

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;

To deliver under oath for destruction all infringing copies or

devices, as well as all plates, molds, or other means for making such

infringing copies as the court may order;

To such other terms and conditions, including the payment of

moral and exemplary damages, which the court may deem proper, wise and

equitable.

Section 29

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 nor more than Two Thousand Pesos

or both, in the discretion of the court.

Section 30

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 —

Not more than one copy at one time is imported

for strictly individual use only, or

The importation is by authority of and for the use of the

Philippine Government; or

The importation, consisting of not more than three such copies

or likenesses 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 form parts of libraries and

personal baggage belonging to persons or families arriving from foreign

countries and arc 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 proprietor's 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.

Section 31

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.

Section 32

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 may designate a society of artists, writers

or composers as agent 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.

Section 33

SEC. 33. The provisions of this Chapter shall not

apply to prints, etchings, engravings, works of applied art, or works of

similar kind wherein the creator primarily derives gain from the

proceeds of reproductions.

Section 34

SEC. 34. Independently of the rights conferred 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:

To make alterations of his work prior to, or

to withhold it from, publication;

To require that the authorship of the works be attributed to

him;

To object to any alteration of his work which is prejudicial to

his reputation;

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.

Section 35

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 contract.

Section 36

SEC. 36. A creator may assign or waive his rights

mentioned in Section 34 of this Decree by a written instrument expressly

so stating, but no such assignment shall be valid where its effect is

to permit another:

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

To use the name of the creator with respect to a work he did

not create.

Section 37

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.

Section 38

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, broadcast, 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.

Section 39

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 the 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 this 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.

Section 40

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 damage recovered after the creator's death shall be held

in trust for and remitted to the heirs.

Section 41

SEC. 41. As used in this chapter:

"Performers" mean actors, singers, musicians,

dancers, and other persons who act, sing, deliver, declaim, play in, or

otherwise perform literary or artistic work.

"Sound Recording" means any exclusively aural fixation of

sounds of a performance or of other sound,

"Producer of sound records" means the person who, or the legal

entity which, first fixes a performance or other sounds.

"Publication" means the issue or offering to the public of

copies of a sound recording in reasonable quantity.

"Reproduction" means the making of a copy or copies of a

recording.

"Broadcasting" means the transmission by wireless means for

public reception of sounds or of images and sound.

"Broadcasting organization" shall include a sole proprietorship

duly authorized to engage in broadcasting.

Section 42

SEC. 42. Performers shall have the exclusive right:

To record or authorize the recording of their

performance on any recording-apparatus for image and/or sound.

To authorize the broadcasting and the communication to the

public of their performance.

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 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 Section

44 and the reproduction is made for a different purpose.

Section 43

SEC. 43. Performers shall have the right to decide

whether their names will be mentioned when their performance is recorded

or broadcast. The provisions of Chapter IV shall apply to them.

Section 44

SEC. 44. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section

43 of his 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 entirely thereof 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.

Section 45

SEC. 45. For infringement of any of their rights,

performers shall be entitled to;

An injunction restraining such infringement;

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 riot be less than Three Hundred Pesos.

To the remedies provided in subsections (C) and (D)

of Section 28 of this Decree but with respect only to recordings of

their performances and devices for making such recordings.

ARTICLE 111. — Producers of Sound Recordings

Section 46

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.

Section 47

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.

Section 48

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.

Section 49

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.