NCIPR destroys P 65 million worth of fakes

IPOPHL sets reforms to combat piracy, counterfeiting online

The 12-member, anti-piracy task force of the government, the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) on Friday destroyed P 65 million worth of pirated and counterfeit goods. 

The ceremonial destruction, coordinated by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) was held as part of the celebration of April as National Intellectual Property Rights Month.  

“Even with the record haul in 2018, the NCIPR is confronting a real challenge of combating piracy and counterfeiting in the online environment. In response to this challenge, we have proposed a provision on  the authority of the office to issue   “notice & takedown” to address online piracy & counterfeiting,” said IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago, setting down the forthcoming reforms planned by the agency. 

“Moreover,  to enable more victories against infringement - like the one recently handed to ABS-CBN by a US Federal Court over 27 pirate sites -  we are recommending an amendment that entitles the copyright owner not just to damages in terms of the ad revenues earned by the infringing site, but to ownership of the domain name of the infringing site as well. Strong remedial measures like these may hopefully embolden copyright owners to really plant their feet & pursue these infringers and pirates,” she added. 

The representative amount of P 65 million (P 65,448,500.00) worth of counterfeit goods destroyed in Camp Crame on Friday were comprised of:

  1. P 16,100,000.00 - LV Wallets
  2. P 15,820,000.00 - LV Bags
  3. P 10,120,000.00 - Shoes (Adidas,Nike,Under Armor and Vans)
  4. P 10,000,000. 00 - Oppo Phones & Back Cases
  5. P 7,280,000.00 - LV cellphone cases
  6. P 2,420,000.00 - LV Notepad cases
  7. P 1,800,000.00 - Rolex Watches
  8. P 1,000,000.00 - Lacoste shirts
  9. P 370,000.00 - Cigarettes
  10. P 280,000.00 - LV Belts
  11. P 150,000.00 - LV Money Clips
  12. P 58,500.00 - DVD
  13. P 50,000.00 - Irwin Tools brand cutting blades
  14. P 0 - Soap (Safeguard and Cetaphil)

This is but a portion of the total seizure of the NCIPR in 2018 which amounted to P 23.6 billion.

To recall, the NCIPR’s total seizure in 2018 of P 23.6 billion worth of pirated and counterfeit goods is an increase of 188% over 2017. It is NCIPR’s largest haul since its creation in 2008.

Per type of good, cigarettes (P 20,250,604,055) and alcohol (P 3,000,000) took the lion’s share or 86 % of the total. Seized pharmaceutical and personal care products came in second in terms of value, with the year-long haul amounting to P 1.2 billion. The NCIPR seized P 821 million worth of fake handbags and wallets, while optical media came in fourth at P 790 million. 

In 2017, the NCIPR captured a total of P8.2 billion worth of goods, with bulk of the items comprising of consumer electronics.