For instructional purposes only • 1st Semester SY 2020-2021 41

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the different forms of IP infringement,

the importance of the proper enforcement of its rights, and how IP rules and
its enforcement affect international economic relations.

At the end of this lesson, the learner will be able to:

1. Define IP infringement;
2. Identify the different forms of infringement;
3. Determine the possible actions that can be imposed in case of
infringement.

Do you know that you can easily infringe? How can you avoid it?

What is infringement? By definition, infringement refers to the acts of violating

the law, agreement, or a right. Have you personally encountered an
infringement? How did you settle the situation?

What is IP infringement?

Why do we need protection? Creations, protected by IP laws, that are

exploited, copied, or otherwise used without having permission from the IP
right owner is known as IP Infringement. This can range from using
technology protected by a patent to selling counterfeit or copying a film or
piracy or plagiarism. What are the consequences or legal remedies to such
illegal activities? Refer below for the possible actions that can be enforced (IP,
n.d.).
✓ Monetary compensation for the loss that may have been acquired by
the owner;
✓ Possible custodial sentence;
✓ Confiscation of assets;
✓ Internal disciplinary proceedings.

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What is the possible effect of infringement? IP infringement can detrimentally

affect anyone’s business and morality that may rise to several risks such as
legal liability, security risk, reputational risk, and resource implication. In short,
IP infringement may threaten the legitimacy of a business Invalid source
specified.. However, not all infringement is intentional and can be easily
avoided through prior art searches.

Forms of Infringement

i. Counterfeit Usually infringe the Trademark and Industrial Design IP

& Replica Right through the creation of products that look identical to
Products the IP protected products. Largely depicts the brand’s
names, logos, symbols, and other forms of IP without
authorization (Williams, 2018).
ii. Piracy Infringe the Copyright IP right through reproduction, copying,
and spreading protected materials such as software,
ebooks, songs, or movies. An example is “The Pirate Bay”
website which provides torrent links to films, albums, video
games, and more (Williams, 2018).
iii. Plagiarism Most common infringement for copyrighted materials. By
definition, it is the act of fraud by taking the original work or
works of another and presenting it as your own such as;
copying a book without attribution for the writer/author or
submitting a photograph that someone else took. However,
it must be taken into account that plagiarism can also be
done even in non-copyrighted materials (Bailey, 2013). Refer
below for some examples.
Example 1: A word-for-word passage from the source
without any indication that it is a direct
quotation (Examples of Plagiarism, n.d.).
Original
"In ages which have no record these islands were the home
of millions of happy birds, the resort of a hundred times more
millions of fishes, of sea lions, and other creatures whose
names are not so common; the marine residence, in fact, of
innumerable creatures predestined from the creation of the
world to lay up a store of wealth for the British farmer, and a
store of quite another sort for an immaculate Republican
government."
Student Writer A: No citation and quotation – Plagiarism
Long ago, when there was no written history, these islands
were the home of millions of happy birds; the resort of a
hundred times more millions of fishes, sea lions, and other
creatures. Here lived innumerable creatures predestined
from the creation of the world to lay up a store of wealth for
the British farmer, and a store of quite another sort for an
immaculate Republican government.

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Additionally, a common approach to avoid plagiarism is

through “Paraphrasing”, however, this can also become
plagiarism when sources are also not properly cited. A
proper citation of the ideas of others will protect you from
committing plagiarism. Refer below for an additional
example (Streefkerk, 2018).

Example 2. Paraphrasing

Original (Cronon, 1995)

“Go back 250 years in American and European history, and
you do not find nearly so many people wandering around
remote corners of the planet looking for what today we
would call ‘the wilderness experience.’ As late as the
eighteenth century, the most common usage of the word
‘wilderness’ in the English language referred to landscapes
that generally carried adjectives far different from the ones
they attract today. To be a wilderness then was to be
‘deserted,’ ‘savage,’ ‘desolate,’ ‘barren’ – in short, a ‘waste,’
the word’s nearest synonym. Its connotations were anything
but positive, and the emotion one was most likely to feel in
its presence was ‘bewilderment’ or terror.”

With Proper Citation

Before the 18th century, the word “wilderness” had very

different associations than it does today. Far from being
tourist attractions, wilderness areas were considered bleak,
barren places that inspired fear and confusion – landscapes
to be avoided rather than actively sought out (Cronon, 1995,
p. 70).

Without Proper Citation - Plagiarism

Before the 18th century, the word “wilderness” had very

different associations than it does today. Far from being
tourist attractions, wilderness areas were considered bleak,
barren places that inspired fear and confusion – landscapes
to be avoided rather than actively sought out.

IP Enforcement: How to assert IP rights? Who administers IP rights?

Intellectual property can be protected through different types of IP rights;

however, it is more than just filing IP protection. What else can be done?
Enforcement of rights is the process of preventing others from exploiting the
protected IP. How can this be done? The Intellectual Property Rights
Enforcement Office (IEO) of the Philippines, pursuant to the mandate under
Section 7, (c) and (d) Republic Act No. 8293, implement administrative
enforcement function which is to (IPOPHL, Enforcement Office, n.d.):
i. Undertake enforcement functions supported by concerned
agencies such as the Philippine National Police, the National
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Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs, the Optical Media

Board, and the local government units, among others; and
ii. To conduct visits during reasonable hours to establishments and
businesses engaging in activities violating intellectual property
rights based on a report, information, or complaint received by the
office.

However, such functions can only be executed and initiated through a verified
complaint. This means that it is the first-hand responsibility of the
owners/inventors/creators to ensure that the rights of their IPs are being
enforced. Additionally, since IP law deals with intangible matters with rights in
spiritual content, problems and challenges are unavoidable. What could it
possibly be? Refer below to problems that arise in enforcing rights to
intangible matters (Olsson, 2004).

i. The very fact that the IP law deals with intangible matters which are
not easy to grasp immediately;
ii. Practical difficulties in finding ways to make police, prosecutors,
and other law enforcement officials aware of the issues and
interested in taking efficient action; and
iii. Sometimes political and economic interests oppose actions
against piracy and counterfeiting.

Nevertheless, the Philippines maintains a positive standing on IPR

enforcement by being excluded in the 2019 United States Trade
Representative (USTR) Special 301 Watch List. This is a list of annually
drawn-up economies with weak enforcement and protection of intellectual
property of the United States. Since 2014, the Philippines has been kept out of
the list (IPOPHL, PH maintains positive standing on intellectual property
rights enforcement, n.d.).

Who is WIPO? What significance does WTO-TRIPS brings?

On top of this, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) monitors

and leads the development of a balanced and effective IP system among
countries and/or states that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit
of all. Are all countries covered by WIPO? As a whole, 193 states out of the195
are members of WIPO (Subhan, 2006). However, as the IP system became
more important and valuable, tension and dispute arose among international
economic relations due to differences in protection and enforcement. Can
this be settled? During the 1986-1994 Uruguay Round of the General
Agreement Tariffs & Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organization (WTO)
came up with the TRIPS Agreement or commonly known as the Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). How does TRIPS settle the
problem? In an attempt to narrow the gaps between countries and states,
TRIPS introduced IP rules into the multilateral trading system. What does the
agreement comprise? Refer below for the areas covered by TRIPS Agreement
(WTO, n.d.).

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✓ Application of general provisions and basic principles of the

multilateral trading system to international intellectual property;
✓ Minimum standards of protection for intellectual property in
respective territories;
✓ Procedures for the provision of enforcement of rights in respective
territories;
✓ Settling disputes on intellectual property between members of the
WTO;
✓ Special transitional arrangements for the implementation of TRIPS
provisions.

Although TRIPS has played a vital role in the overall promotion of trade and
economic development, criticisms and discontentment from the involved and
concerned parties still arise on a number of levels. What are the issues that
the TRIPS Agreement has to deal with? Refer below for some issues met by
the TRIPS Agreement. Do you find these issues reasonable?
✓ Unreasonably strong protection of IP rights which serves to prevent
the ill in developing and least-developed countries (LCDs) from
having access to affordable essential medications (Subhan, 2006);
✓ Hindrance of the transfer of technology from the industrial countries
to IP-poor countries and offers no protection to LDCs from the
abusive behavior of corporations who own the IPs;
✓ A provision that would allow multinational corporations to patent
indigenous knowledge and practices – “Bioprospecting” and
“Biopiracy”. What are Bioprospecting and Biopiracy?
Bioprospecting - the search for traditional/indigenous knowledge to
be used for commercial purposes
Biopiracy - a practice of unauthorized use of traditional/indigenous
knowledge for profit and with little or no compensation or
recognition to the indigenous people from where the knowledge
originated.
The following are some products developed in the Philippines but
patented elsewhere:
• Nata de coco
• Ilang-ilang perfume
• Banaba-derived anti-diabetic drug
Nevertheless, WTO recognizes that there are no specific provisions made to
accommodate the special needs of the developing and least developed
countries. Recommendations for the revision of the TRIPS Agreement has
been raised for the benefit of all, such as;
Doha Declaration 2001 - This declaration ensures that the government may
issue compulsory licenses on patents for medicines or take other steps to
protect public health. That nothing in the TRIPs agreement shall prevent
members from taking measures to protect public health (Wikipedia, Doha
Declaration, n.d.).

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Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-02
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