Clamour from composers for copyright permission growing
There’s a growing clamour now among composers to be given credit for their music being used in political campaigns said Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines DG Josephine Santiago and Filipino Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (FILSCAP) legal counsel Atty. Michael Hernandez and in an interview at DZMM’s Konsyumer Atbp. on Saturday.
With this pressure, hopefully political candidates may take advantage of the ongoing campaign period to ask permission.
This National Intellectual Property Rights Month, IPOPHL and FILSCAP touched on the growing concern of composers - like famed composer and musician Raymond Marasigan - in the unauthorized use of copyrighted songs in campaign jingles and in rallies.
“FISLCAP and IPOPHL ever since, every election period remind politicians to ask permission for copyrighted music. This time, composers themselves are saying proactively to candidates to ask permission from them. This awareness from copyright owners to assert their rights is growing,” said Atty. Hernandez.
“Pag pasok ng campaign period, hindi kami nakakalimot magpaalala sa mga kandidato. Mas malakas ngayon ang clamour at demand dahil sa mga information campaign ng FILSCAP at IPOPHL,” added IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago.
“Pag pinalitan ang kanta, akala ng publiko na ito’y madali lang.Iniisip nila na dahil hindi “nahahawakan” ang mga salita at tinig, maaring baguhin at kunin ng walang pahintulot. Bago naging kanta, ito’y pinaghirapan ng composer kaya dapat nirerespeto ng intellectual property tulad ng copyright. Itong pagrerespeto ay aming pinaiigting sa publiko,” the government official added.
Political candidates and parties may contact FILSCAP, and they will connect them with composers and publishers for getting modification and reproduction licenses of local and foreign songs.
A lot of composers have assigned their public performance right to FILSCAP, so candidates may go directly to FILSCAP for public performance licenses.
FILSCAP primarily licenses the public playing of over 20 million copyrighted local and foreign musical works which accounts for about 95% of the copyrighted songs that are now being publicly played in the Philippines.
For this election cycle, no charges have been brought against any political candidate since there is still time to ask permission while the campaign period is ongoing.