EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S E N A  
S. B. No.
A Fit
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11 15 All :01
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
AN ACT
ENABLING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE THROUGH THE 
NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO CANCEL
LICENSES OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ALLOW 
WEBSITES TO INFRINGE OR TO FACILITATE INFRINGEMENT OF
COPYRIGHT
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Technology constantly evolves, and it evolves rapidly. Powerful 
innovations of the Internet age such as uploading and downloading, linking, 
torrenting, and stream ing create opportunities. However, these innovations 
pose enorm ous challenges and concerns, particularly on the protection of 
intellectual property online.
The Philippines is, unfortunately, one of the countries described by 
Internet pirates as “safe” for uploading, downloading, linking, torrenting, 
and stream  infringing content w ithout fear of prosecution. The Philippines 
continues to be a haven for cyber crim inals who illegally m ake content 
available on the Internet.
Years ago, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) was able to disrupt the 
notorious pirate torrent site, KickAssTOrrents (kat.ph), by seizing the .ph 
dom ain -  the country’s code dom ain. However, these prolific pirates simply 
changed their dom ain to th a t of another country -  to .to for Tonga or .so for 
Somalia, ju st to cite an example. Since the Philippine IPO had no 
jurisdiction over these countries’ dom ain registrars, it could not further 
disrupt KickAssTorrents. H undreds if not thousands of sires have sprouted 
all over the web, including download sites, linking sites, stream ing sites, 
and cyberlockers th at broadcast or allow unauthorized access to copyrighted 
m aterials, often with a single click of a button. To date in the Philippines, 
m otion pictures and 
television program s, 
m usic, 
books, 
and other 
copyrighted m aterials have been relentlessly shared, copied, distributed, or


stream ed over servers w ithout m uch hope for protection for the copyright 
owner. This situation can be rem edied by the passage of a law th at will 
empower the IPO and enable local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take 
reasonable steps to disable access to sites whenever these sites are reported 
to be infringing copyright or facilitating copyright infringement.
Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the “Intellectual Property 
Code of the Philippines”, declares as its police th at “The State recognizes 
th at an effective intellectual and industrial property system  is vital to the 
development of dom estic and creative activity, facilitates transfer of 
technology, attracts foreign investm ents, and ensures m arket access for our 
products.” This intellectual property system  m ust constantly improve and 
evolve so as to m eet the rapidly changing landscape of internet. It is the 
obligation of the State to protect the works of Filipino artists -  m ay it be 
actors, singers, painters and application developers. Such can be done 
through an enactm ent of legislation which will enable Filipino artists to stop 
online piracy.
Thus, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
VICENTE CJ SOTTO III


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
S E N A T E  
S. B. N o .___4 9 7
of l ‘.)C T  
'
*19 
JUL 15 All --Ol
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
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AN ACT
ENABLING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE THROUGH THE 
NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO CANCEL 
LICENSES OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ALLOW 
WEBSITES TO INFRINGE OR TO FACILITATE INFRINGEMENT OF
COPYRIGHT
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assem bled:
SECTION 1. Title. -  This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Online 
Infringem ent Act.”
SECTION 2. D e cla ra tio n  o f Policy. -  The State recognizes the protection of 
intellectual property as an integral aspect of national developm ent and 
growth. 
Being a signatory to global intellectual property laws and 
agreem ents, the State shall respect and abide by the policies of these 
international agreem ents and shall strive to provide adequate protection and 
effective enforcem ent of intellectual property rights.
It is the policy of the State to recognize the vital role of com m unication 
and inform ation in nation building. As such, governm ent agencies dedicated 
to the prom otion and adm inistration of com m unication and information 
should be empowered to regulate private com panies th at operate business 
which operate in the internet space, some of whom may be violating or 
facilitating violations of intellectual property rights.
ARTICLE I
DEFINITION OF TERMS
(a) C om m ission -  the National Telecom m unications Commission
(b) C opyright -  shall be defined consistent with that term  in Republic Act 
No. 8293, as am ended
(c) O nline lo catio n  -  any collection of related web pages accessible by a 
user through a dom ain internet protocol (IP) address or uniform  
resource locator (URL)


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(d) Infringing onlin e lo catio n  -  any online location the prim ary purpose 
of which is to infringe copyright or facilitate copyright infringem ent
(e) In te rn e t service provider (ISP) -  any person or legal entity operating 
in the Philippines that provides custom ers with access to an online 
location, including through information location tools
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ARTICLE II
APPLICATION FOR DISABLING ACCESS TO INFRINGING ONLINE
LOCATIONS
SECTION 4. A p p licatio n  to th e  Office. -  A copyright owner, or an 
exclusive licensee thereof, may file an application to the Intellectual Property 
Office (IPO) to require internet seiwice providers (ISPs) to take reasonable 
steps to disable access to an infringing online location.
a) To accom m odate requests of both local and international applicants, 
the application may be m ade by completing a form available at the 
IPO website;
b) The application shall indicate:
i. The dom ains, internet protocol (IP) addresses, a n d /o r 
URLs 
by which 
each 
infringing 
online 
location 
is 
accessible;
ii. The copyrighted m aterial of the applicant which is being 
infringed;
iii. O ther m atters which the IPO may take into account, 
including:
1. The flagrancy of such infringement;
2. W hether the online location m akes available or 
contains directories, indexes or categories of the 
m eans to infringe, or facilitate an infringem ent of 
copyright;
3. W hether the owner or operator of the online 
location dem onstrates a disregard for copyright 
generally;
4. W hether access to the online loeation has been 
disabled by orders from any court of another 
countiy or territoiy on the ground of or related to 
eopyright infringement;
5. The proportionate effects and im pact th at blocking 
may have on local users, w hether individually or 
collectively; a n d /o r
6. Any other relevant m atter
c) One application may be subm itted for multiple infringing online 
locations; however, the requirem ents of this Seetion m ust be met and 
set out in the application
SECTION 5. Review  by th e  IPO. -  Upon receipt of the application form, the 
IPO shall review the sam e and determ ine w hether the online location m eets 
the requirem ents of the preceding section.


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a) The IPO shall, within fifteen (15) days from the filing of the 
application, prepare a report of its findings and provide the applicant 
and internet service providers with the same.
b) A Review Committee shall be formed to review all applications received 
and the IPO report.
c) The Committee, in reviewing the application and the IPO report, may 
give due consideration to all the m atters set out in Section 4(b).
SECTION 6. A ction by th e  IPO. -  If the Committee agrees with the IPO 
report and its findings that the online location m eets the requirem ents of 
Section 4 of this Act, the Committee shall, within ten (10) days from the 
prom ulgation of the IPO report, send a Notice of Approval back to the IPO.
a) The IPO shall then, within five (5) days, render an Order requiring the 
ISP to take reasonable steps to disable access to the infringing online 
location. A copy of the said Order shall likewise be given to the 
applicant.
b) Otherwise, the IPO shall, within five (5) days, send a Notice to the 
applicant th at its application is denied, setting forth the grounds for 
denial.
c) W hether the application is granted or denied, the IPO shall subm it its 
Report 
accom panied 
by 
the 
Order, 
if any, 
to 
the 
National 
Telecom m unications Commission.
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SECTION 7. W atch L ist. -  Even if the online location does not m eet the 
requirem ents of Section 4 of this Act, the IPO shall keep a watch list of all 
online locations for which there has been an application under this Act.
The IPO shall keep a list of all infringing online locations for which 
Orders have been rendered under this Act. The IPO may at any time during 
the operation of the Orders notify the ISPs should it become known th at the 
infringing online location be accessible from a different dom ain nam e, IP 
address, or URL, and m ake such different dom ain nam e, IP address, or URL 
subject to the Orders.
ARTICLE III
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
SECTION 8. R esponse to th e  O rder o f th e  Office. - Upon receipt of the 
Order enjoining them  to block a website, Internet Seiwice Providers (ISPs) 
may, if they object to any part of the Order, subm it a response to the Office 
setting out the grounds for such objection within five (5) calendar days. In 
this case, the Office may alter the Order within ten (10) calendar days as it 
deem s fit, or, if no alteration is required, then the response is deemed 
rejected and the Order shall rem ain in force.
SECTION 9. C om plying w ith th e  O rder. -  Subject to Section 8 of this Act, 
the ISPs m ust comply with the Order within ten (10) days following the 
issuance of an Order, or an alteration of an Order, as the case may be.


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a) Should the ISP be unable to comply with the Order within ten (10) 
days from its issuance, it m ust subm it a written explanation and an 
action plan to the IPO.
b) Failure to comply with the Order within ten (10) days of its issuance 
and w ithout a written explanation and action plan shall subject the 
ISP to liability for penalties under Article IV of this Act.
SECTION 10. A ctions to  be T aken. -  Reasonable steps to disable access to 
an infringing online location shall include Domain Names (DNs) blocking in 
respect of all DNs from which the infringing online location operates; IP 
address blocking or re-routing in respect of static IP addresses for infringing 
online locations; URL blocking in respect of all URLs of the Target Online 
Locations and their DNs; or any alternative technical m eans for disabling 
access to the infringing online location as agreed in writing between the 
applicants and an ISP.
a) The ISP m ust redirect any com m unication by a user of its seiwice 
seeking access to an infringing online location disabled p u rsu an t to 
an Order to a webpage informing users who have been redirected to 
the webpage that access to that infringing online location h as been 
disabled by Order of the IPO because the infringing online location 
infringes or facilitates the infringement of copyright.
b) The ISP subject to the Order shall subm it a quarterly report to the IPO 
and to the Commission informing them  of the statu s of compliance 
with the Order, and any relevant information regarding the availability 
of the infringing online location in the Philippines via the ISP.
ARTICLE IV
CANCELLATION OF LICENSE
SECTION 11. R ecom m endation to th e  Com m ission. -  The IPO shall m ake 
recom m endations to the Commission to cancel the license of an ISP that 
com m its the following acts:
a) Refusal to comply with an Order from the IPO to take reasonable steps 
to disable access to an infringing online location;
b) Failure to comply with an Order within ten (10) days from its issuance 
and w ithout the requisite written explanation and action plan; or
c) Any gross violation of Article III of this Act.
SECTION 12. N otice a n d  C onference. -  W ithin five (5) days upon receipt of 
the recom m endation from the IPO, the Commission shall schedule a hearing 
to investigate the alleged violations of the ISP described in the preceding 
section.
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The Commission shall seiwe a notice to the ISP and schedule a 
conference for the sam e to determ ine w hether the cancellation of the license 
of the ISP shall be proper.


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The conference shall be scheduled no more than fifteen (15) days from 
the date the Commission receives the recom m endation from the IPO. The 
conference shall be concluded within a single day and a final judgm ent m ust 
be rendered therein.
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SECTION 13. C an cellatio n  o f License. -  If the recom m endation of the IPO 
to cancel the license of the ISP is proper and m eritorious, the Com mission 
shall facilitate the prom pt cancellation of the license of the ISP.
ARTICLE V 
MISCELLANEOUS
SECTION 14. Im p lem en tin g  R ules a n d  R egulations. -  W ithin ninety (90) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the IPO, in consultation with the 
appropriate agencies and departm ents, shall prom ulgate the necessaiy rules 
and regulations for the im plem entation of this Act.
SECTION 
15. 
A p p ro p riatio n s. 
-  
The 
am ount 
necessary 
for 
the 
im plem entation of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations 
Act.
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SECTION 16. S e p a ra b ility  C lause. -  If any provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional or othei-wise invalid, the validity of the other provisions 
shall not be affected thereby.
SECTION 17. R ep ealin g  C lause. -  All laws, decrees, orders, rules and 
regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or 
modified accordingly.
SECTION 18. E ffectivity. -  This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days 
from its publication in the Official Gazette or in a new spaper of general 
circulation.
Approved,