Josh Carol Ventura

Josh Carol Ventura, chief of the trade and regulatory division of DTI-7 said that a lot of pirated products are being sold in the local markets today, which are among the causes of the downfall of the country's economy.

She said that her office had once talked with a manufacturer of toiletries who claimed that there are imitations of their products but don't want them stopped because their products might be affected as well.

"They don't want it stopped because their sales might be affected as well because consumers might think their products are pirated so they would not buy them anymore," Ventura said, adding that "all things can be pirated."

As far as they want it stopped, she said that they could not do it without the cooperation of the companies concerned and the help of the local government units.

Ventura said that since manufacturers and producers are ones at the forefront, they should be the ones who lead the enforcement of the intellectual property rights law.

"When it comes to IP awareness, there is still a lot things to be done," she noted.

To solve the increasing problem on piracy, the DTI has formed the Intellectual Property Office.The DTI is also planning to come up with intellectual property alliance wherein the trade office will be working closely with the private sector to solve the problem.

"How can we attract investors if the environment is not good for intellectual property?We want to increase the level of awareness of the public and work with the private sector like recording companies," Ventura added.

DTI reported that from 2000 to 2003, piracy rate in the country had rose up to 63 percent, which resulted to millions in losses in the economy.By 2004, Philippines piracy rate soared up to 72 percent placing it fourth among countries in the world with the highest piracy rates.

Ventura said that even though a lot of people know about the existence of piracy, many still buy pirated things because they are cheaper.

Josh Carol Ventura, DTI-7 chief of the trade and regulatory division, bared the DTI has received word from the head office regarding the campaign for pirate-free malls that started in Manila.The campaign is sealed with a memorandum of agreement between the DTI Central Office and the participating malls.

Ventura said the advocacy would earn for the participating malls good reputation and increase credibility since they would be known to only sell quality goods and not shoddy ones often attached to pirated products.

According to a US report on software piracy released in September 2004, the Philippines is the fourth largest country with the highest piracy rate with 72 percent.The top three countries identified in the same report are China with 92 percent, Indonesia with 88 percent, and India with 73 percent.

Ventura generally pegged the country's piracy rate between the 50 to 60 percent levels.In 1970, the country's piracy rate was at 70 percent that decreased to 61 percent the following year.In 2001, it rose to 63 percent and increase more to 68 percent in 2002, Ventura said basing the data from the Board of Investments.

A reduction of just 10 percent in piracy rate in the country would generate P1 billion in new tax revenues and P 19.2 billion in contribution to the national economy as well as provide 2 thousand high-tech paying jobs, Ventura said.

Baste Balboa, outgoing president of the Philippine Association of Recording Industry - VisMin Chapter and the CEO of Alpha Music Corp.-Cebu said his company used to register P2 million in records sale annually in Cebu City alone.Due to the pirated CDs displayed publicly, record sales dove down to P700T yearly, Balboa said.

In order to curb the piracy problem, Ventura said there is a need to heighten awareness among the public on the significance of Intellectual Property Rights and the economic setbacks of piracy.Enforcement must also be strengthened while there is a need to involve the local government units to lend more teeth to the apprehension of those involved in piracy, Ventura said.

If piracy is abated even by just 10 per cent, the country could generate Pl billion (US,17.8 million) in new tax revenues and 2,000 new jobs for Filipinos, said Department of Trade and Industry Regulatory Division Chief Josh Carol Ventura.
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Meanwhile, Ventura said many people are still unaware of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) which is why they still patronize pirated products.

A survey conducted last year by the Business Software Alliance showed that the Philippines ranked fourth in software piracy all over the world.

China tops the list, followed by Indonesia and India.

Because of the high rate of piracy in the country, investment on information technology went down, said Ventura.