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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHEPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
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SENATE 
Introduced by Senator Antouio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV 
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EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article -XIV ofthe Constitution StaFeS the importance ofqudai~y education as IF deciares tihe vaiue 
of establishing an integrated system of education that is relevant to the needs of the people and 
society. However, the limiting condition of visually-impaired citizens to print materials severely 
keep a tight rein on their access to education, work and social integration that is readily available 
to print readers. inis scenario puts tkm at B significant social aad economic disadvantage, 
which in effect. renders them illiterate. 
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Worldwide, accessible media producers have been confronted with long delays in securing 
permission from c o p ~ g h t  biders to produce their materiais in a format accessible for the 
visually-impaired. It is known that print material available to any sighted person at present may 
take months or even longer before it can be provided in a format that a visually-impaired person 
can read, which by then, may be no longer relevant. 
This circumstance brings the necessity to adopt a measure that shall permit production and 
distribution of special format books and magazines for the visually impaired, without first 
obtaining a copyright clearance from the appropriate bureau, and thereby expediting the early 
circuiation ofthe aforesaid materiais necessary for the. use ofvisuaiiy-impaired persons. 
This bill seeks to grant exemption in the translation of printed materials into formats accessible 
to the visually-impaired and for other purposes, amending Section 185 of Republic Act No, 8293 
otherwise known as the “Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines”. This would give 
visuaiiy-impaired persons equai and timeiy access to copyrign~ed print materiais, thus, 
improving their educational and vocational levels. 
in view ofthe foregoing, the immediate approval ofthis biil is earnestiy sought 
Senator 
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FOURTEENTH CONGRlESS OF THE 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHnPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
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HAY 25 fl$I :49 
SENATE 
Introduced by Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV 
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AN ACT 
GRANTING 
EXEMPTIONS FROM SECURING PERMISSION FROM THE 
PUBLISHER 
OR COPYRIGHT OWNER OF PRINTED 
MATEIUALS TO 
REPRODUCE THE SAME IN A SPECIALIZED FORMAT FOR THE EXCLUSIVE USE 
OF BLIND OR VTSUALLY- KvIPAE%ED ENDiNEWALS, AMENDING FOR TiiiS 
PURPOSE SECTION 185 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8293, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE “INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE OF THE PHKLJPPINES”, AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senote and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 185 of Republic Act No. 8293 is hereby amended by addmg a new 
provision to read as follows: 
“ SECTION 185. Fair Use of Copyrighted Work. - 185.1. The fair use of a 
copyrighted work for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching including multiple 
copies for classroom use, scholarship, research, and similar purposes is not an 
infringement of copyright. IT IS NOT ALSO AN INFRINGEMENT OF THE 
COPYRIGHTED WORK TO REPRODUCE OR DISTRIBUTE COPIES OF 
PUBLISHED ARTICLESMATERIALS IF SUCH COPIES ARE REPRODUCED OR 
DISTRIBUTED IN A SPECIALIZED FORMAT EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE USE OF 
THE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS PROVIDED, THAT SUCH 
COPIES AND DISTRIBUTION SHALL BE MADE ON’ A NON-PROFIT BASIS AND 
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SHALL INDICATE THE COPYRIGHT OWNER AND THE DATE OF THE 
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ORIGINAL PUBLICATION. THIS DISTRIBUTION IS ALSO PERMITTED IN CASE 
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COPES HAVE BEEN MADE A3ROAD AND THE CONDITIONS 
MFNTIONEP ABOVE HAVE BEEN FULFILLED. 
Decompilation, which is understood here to be the reproduction of the code and 
translation of the forms of the computer program with other program to achieve the 
interoperability of an independently created computer program with other programs may 
also constitutc fair use, the factors to be considered shall include: 
a) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of acommercial 
nature; [or is for non- profit educational purposes] 
b) The nature of the copyrighted work; 
c )  The ~xoun? 
a2d substactiaI!y cf the pertian used in re!ztkz? to the cqyrighted -wcrk, 
as a whole; 
df The effect of ths nse upon ths pnkntia! x a r e t  fcr er vdue of ths ccpyrighted work." 
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.sE,c:TlGN 2. L&&&iozs - T&e p ~ g ~ j ! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .  
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iiot apply &! &ii&i-&&., 
secure, or norm- referenced tests and related testing materials, or to computer programs, except 
the portions thereof that are conventional human language (ineludmg descriptions of pictorial 
works) and displayed to users in the ordinary course of using the computer programs. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Term. -For purposes of this Act, these terms shall be 
defined as follows: 
a) Blind or visually-impaired person means an individual who cannot read printed 
materials due to low or lack of vision. 
b) Specialized format means braille, audio, large print, digital text or other formats 
which enables the blind or visually-impaired person to read the print material. 
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SEC. 4. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act shall at any time be found to 
be unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder thereof not affected by such declaration shall 
remain in full force and effect. 
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SEC. 5. Repealing Clause. -. All laws, decrees, rules or regulations inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Approved, 
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