Sotto wants to stop online piracy with new bill

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has filed Senate Bill No. 2109 or also known as the Philippine Online Infringement Act that seeks to stop online piracy with the help of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and Internet Service Providers (ISP).

The act puts stricter measures by enabling the IPO through the NTC to cancel the licenses of ISPs that allow websites to infringe or to facilitate infringement of copyright.

Copyright owners can file an application form to the IPO to disable access to infringing online location or website. The IPO, upon receipt of the application form, shall review and determine whether the online location meets the requirements.

If the review committee agrees with the IPO report and its findings, it shall render, within 5 days, an order requiring the ISP to take reasonable steps to disable access to the infringing online location which  includes blocking of Domain Names (DNs), IP address blocking or re-routing, URL blocking, or “any alternative technical means for disabling access” as agreed in writing between the applicants and an ISP.

The ISP must comply with the order within 10 days following the issuance of the order. Failure to comply with the order will subject the ISP for penalties which can also lead to the cancellation of its license.

“The Philippines is, unfortunately, one of the countries described by Internet pirates as “safe” for uploading, downloading, linking, torrenting, and stream infringing content without fear of prosecution. The Philippines continues to be a haven for cybercriminals who illegally make content available on the Internet,” Sotto said in the bill’s explanatory note. “It is the obligation of the State to protect the works of Filipino artists — may it be actors, singers, painters and application developers.”