61% of PH consumers access piracy sites – study (Sabong News)

The number of consumers in the Philippines that are accessing piracy sites for movies has grown to 61 percent from only 49 percent, according to a study. Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Rowel S. Barba cited the recent YouGov survey commissioned by the Coalition Against Piracy to stress the significance of its partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The YouGov survey showed that 61 percent of consumers in the Philippines admit to accessing pirate services. This is higher than the 49 percent of Filipinos that admitted to accessing piracy sites in September 2020. “This newest partnership with MPA elevates IPOPHL’s whole-of-society efforts in fostering a digital environment that respects intellectual property (IP) rights,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said at the recent ceremony for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the MPA. Under the partnership, MPA commits to support IPOPHL in developing an effective piracy monitoring system and a rolling site-blocking regime that will disrupt accessibility to piracy sites. Barba also decried how the pandemic has exacerbated digital piracy around the world, resulting in billions of losses in revenues for legitimate content providers. “Unfortunately, some people would watch illicit content because it is free rather than pay for legitimate ones, failing to see how this can destroy our economy and creativity as a nation in the long run,” Barba added. A 2021 IPOPHL survey jointly conducted with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) showed that saving on cost was the primary reason that drives patronage of unofficial copies of movies (68%) and TV series (44%) among 1,000 respondents surveyed. MPA’s Executive Vice President of Global Content Protection Jan van Voorn lamented how piracy “have remained popular in the Philippines and continue to have detrimental effects on the country,” particularly on job creation and the whole of the economy. “A site blocking framework, which incorporates transparency and due process, can be incredibly effective at reducing levels of online piracy in key markets like the Philippines,” said van Voorn, who is also head of the MPA’s global anti-piracy coalition, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE). Van Voorn lauded IPOPHL for its work in facilitating cooperation with internet service providers and other intermediaries necessary in implementing site-blocking. The ACE chief also commended IPOPHL for rolling out “gold standard” consumer awareness campaigns and pushing to amend the IP Code to keep laws modern enough to sufficiently address digital piracy. With the MOU with MPA, IPOPHL is a step closer to its goal of implementing a rolling site-blocking policy. To recall, IPOPHL received in December last year the Government Leadership Award for Site blocking in Asia Pacific for its efforts to put site-blocking at the forefront of its anti-piracy battle. Beyond site-blocking and piracy monitoring, the MOU enables a lawful sharing of information that will be useful in curbing digital piracy in the Philippines. The MPA also commits to conduct training on various piracy prevention measures. The group will also provide reasonable assistance to help IPOPHL and other relevant agencies effectively implement rolling site blocking and take down. “By working together, we will successfully reduce digital piracy in the Philippines. This will ensure that our creative economy players fully enjoy the rewards they deserve and continue to create new Philippine creations for our society, culture, economy and the whole world to enjoy,” Barba added. The MPA is an advocate in globally advancing film, television and the streaming content industry. Its members are the five major studios in the United States — namely Paramount Pictures Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios LLC., Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. — and video streaming service provider Netflix Studios, LLC.