Roundtable Discussion on Protecting Intellectual Property on the Internet

Manila, April 11, 2013 — Representatives from the Philippine government, the private sector, rights holder associations, law firms, and universities gathered for a roundtable discussion on “Creating a Digital Economy” at the Diamond Hotel in Manila today. U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Brian L. Goldbeck joined Atty. Ricardo Blancaflor, Director General of Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), and Seong Un Hwang, Director of the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, to kick off the event.

Sponsored by the U.S Patent and Trademark Office, the Korea Copyright Commission, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, the event provided a forum for examining the challenges, successes, and current issues surrounding copyright protection on the Internet, as well as the latest legislative developments on intellectual property rights and cybersecurity in the Philippines.

Participants highlighted the roles and responsibilities of governments, rights holders, and consumers in protecting creative works. In his welcome remarks, Mr. Goldbeck noted that the US wants the digital economy to promote legitimate trade, and, for its part, the United States in 2012, seized $1.26 billion in counterfeit and pirated goods.

The U.S. Government also shut down nearly 700 websites involved in trafficking goods.Goldbeck asked participants to consider that worldwide e-commerce sales topped US$1 trillion for the first time in 2012, and in 2013 are expected to exceed US$1.25 trillion. “We believe that markets that provide broad access to the Internet, along with regulatory environments that protect intellectual property rights are critical to the continued growth of a healthy digital economy,” he said.

Notable speakers who joined the discussion were Peter N. Fowler, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Regional Intellectual Property Attaché for Southeast Asia; Deborah Nga, Google Southeast Asia’s country lead for Public Policy and Government Affairs; Wee Choo Hua, E-bay Southeast Asia’s senior director and head of Government Relations; Valerie Tan, Skype’s director for Government and Regulatory Affairs; and performing artist Noel Cabangon, who heads the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Inc.