FILCOLS on GNN TV (c/o youtube)

Please watch IPOTV featuring FILCOLS through youtube.

These videos were aired on GNN TV, a Destiny Cable Channel last January 29, 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHgFClUHJ9Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gDmazDakw

Post event FILCOLS Huntahan sa Diliman

FILCOLS Huntahan in Diliman, an informal discussion about writing, copyright, intellectual property and the film and TV industry was held last 6 February 2011 at the Videotheque Room, Film Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City

FILCOLS Huntahan sa Diliman was conceived last year when FILCOLS met Libay Linsangan Cantor, a writer from a major TV network, at a conference of the National Book Development Board.

FILCOLS started sending out invitations last December. By mid-January 2011, FILCOLS had almost 40 names in the pre-registration list.

On February 6, the event day itself, it was already 1:00 p.m. but still, only a handful of writers have registered and were comfortably sitting inside the venue.

Alvin Buenaventura, the Executive Director of Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, wasn’t discouraged. He told everyone that the event will still push through.

At exactly 1:30 p.m., the program started.

Buenaventura started his talk on reproduction rights organizations, copyright, IP and its role in the lives of the writers.

Light merienda was served after.

The participants had the chance to get to know each other while having their snacks. They had diverse backgrounds and affiliations. Some came from Bulacan State University, M. Power Productions, Star Cinema, UP Film Institute, The Philippine Courier, Precious Pages Corporation, New Era University, ABS-CBN, Ambitgoya Books and Bigtop/TV5. Some were freelance writers and independent producers. Two professors and a student joined the session. There was also a director, writer/publisher and blogger.

After the snacks, Atty. Calvario, the head of Copyright Support Services of Intellectual Property of the Philippines, started discussing the basics of copyright.
Some participants could not hold out their questions anymore. So they asked Atty. Calvario as he presented the information and examples from different court cases.

Libay Linsangan Cantor asked if a writer should receive royalties in this situation: the writer was already given payment for writing the script of one episode of a TV show, then the producers decided to

1. include that particular episode in a DVD compilation and sold them as well
2. and air the episode again after some time.

Atty. Calvario said the writer should receive royalties unless the writer signed a contract that assigns the copyright of his/her works to the producer.

Cantor also asked who owns the copyright if a work was produced with the help of a grant. Atty. Calvario said that usually it would be the entity that gave the grant. But it must be expressed in writing, otherwise the creator of the work would still be the copyright owner.

Cantor and other participants inquired if IPOPHL and FILCOLS can do something to educate high level managers and producers (especially those who come from the mainstream TV and film productions) about their writers’ rights as well. Atty. Calvario said that he will bring this up as he meets with representatives of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts this February. Beverly Siy, FILCOLS’ Executive Officer, shared FILCOLS’ previous plans of holding an IP event in partnership with organizers of different film festivals. This event would have been for the directors and producers to make them become more aware of the writers’ rights. But FILCOLS felt that its efforts should focus more on writers first.

Joric Raquiza shared his experiences as a director of a film. He said that some people from the creative department and even the producer made changes in his work. He is worried that these might affect his reputation as a director because the whole film would still be credited to him. He asked if he should take this case to the court.

Atty. Calvario encouraged him to seek an amicable settlement first. He advised him to send an invitation letter to the producer and the creative department for a meeting/conference and air his views on the changes they made in his work.

Oliver Valvieja wanted to confirm what he has heard about obtaining copyright by emailing a written work to oneself. Atty. Calvario said that copyright is automatic.

One doesn’t have to register to have copyright over his/her work. However, if a writer would still want to register the work in the National Library (with him/her as the copyright owner), no one can prevent him/her. There is also a term called poor man’s copyright where the copyright owner sends a copy of his/her work to him/herself through the snail mail. The post office, which is a government office, puts a stamp/mark on the envelope saying that it went through its system. Atty. Calvario suspects that the emailing for copyright is just the modern version of the poor man’s copyright.

The question and answer portion was a little bit longer than usual even if the number of participants was small.

Before the program ended, certificates were awarded to the participants. FILCOLS awarded Certificates of Appreciation to Atty. Calvario and Ms. Cantor for their contribution to FILCOLS Huntahan sa Diliman's success.

Beverly Siy delivered the closing remarks. She also encouraged the participants to join writers organizations so they can fight for their rights as a bigger entity. She also invited those who have published works to become member of FILCOLS.

It was indeed a very productive afternoon even if the venue was just half-full and there were so many empanadas left after everyone’s taken their shares and shares.

FILCOLS receives support from the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE) and Kopinor. NORCODE is an international copyright development group funded by five copyright societies namely KOPINOR, GRAMO, TONO, BONO and NORWACO. KOPINOR is the reproduction rights (RRO) of Norway while FILCOLS is the RRO of the Philippines.


Written by Beverly W. Siy



Thank you to Mr. Gabby Villarama for the photos. More photos will be uploaded. Please standby.

Sincerely,
FILCOLS Secretariat

More photos -FILCOLS Huntahan in Pangasinan

FILCOLS Huntahan in Pangasinan: A Success. As in!

It wasn’t just another HUNTAHAN.

FILCOLS Huntahan in Pangasinan, an informal discussion about writing, publishing, copyright and IP, suddenly turned into a mini- Talentadong Pinoy show. It was a morning, noon and afternoon filled with IP information and…fun!

The unforgettable Huntahan was held last 28 January 2011 at the Conference Room, Malong Building, Pangasinan Provincial Capitol Complex, Lingayen, Pangasinan.

At exactly 9:40 a.m., Renato Santillan led everyone in singing the National Anthem. Then Mrs. Malu Amor-Elduayan of Pangasinan Provincial Tourism Office welcomed the guests and participants not only to the event but to the whole province of Pangasinan as well. She was happy to greet everyone especially visitors from Manila. She said that the province's name came from the word Panag-asinan, a place where asin or salt is made. Long time ago, asin was Pangasinan's number one industry.

Ulupan na Pansiansiay Salitan Pangasinan’s (UPSP) president Erwin Fernandez welcomed FILCOLS and UMPIL. He expressed satisfaction that the long days of planning the event has borne fruit. Erwin was delighted to see that a lot of UPSP members are interested to know their rights as writers.

Alvin J. Buenaventura, the Executive Director of FILCOLS or Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc., started the lecture on basic copyright with an anecdote from World War II. He mentioned a gory scene from that historic era to illustrate the need to respect human rights. Then he went on to discuss the authors’ rights as a human right as well. He also talked about the foundations of reproduction rights organizations. He introduced the concepts of CMO and then mentioned IFRRO and FILSCAP.

A sumptuous lunch was sponsored by Pangasinan Provincial Tourism Office.

Immediately after lunch, the participants rushed back to the venue to listen to Engr. Abdon Balde Jr., Chairperson of Unyon ng Mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL). He talked about the benefits of forming and joining writers organizations. He also talked about the business side of writing and publishing industry. A writer from the regions himself, he encouraged everyone to write in Pangasinan language as well. Before his talk ended, he promised to get in touch with the branch manager of National Book Store Pangasinan to see what he can do to help market "Tagano Ed Kelang," UPSP’s latest literary anthology.

After the talks came the question and answer portion of the program.

Lazaro Millanes asked if FILCOLS can do something to help him in the preservation of Pangasinan folk songs he has recorded. He also wanted to have some note sheets registered. He asked if FILCOLS can help him get ISMN or International Standard Music Number. Alvin Buenaventura said that only the National Library of the Philippines issues ISMN.

Erwin Fernandez inquired about permission to translate a short story of Manuel Arguilla. It was published during the Japanese War. Alvin replied that if the story is already out of copyright, he can translate it without asking for permission from anyone. But if he is going to translate it from a recent republication of that same story, he must seek permission from the publisher (the recent one.)

Malu Amor-Elduayan shared her experiences in dealing with a printing company. She and a team from her office authored articles and took photos for a Department of Tourism Pangasinan brochure. Then she sent their works to the printing company. She and the team from her office were very surprised and disappointed to see a man's name on a corner side of the brochure. It seemed that he was getting credits from the works he never created. She asked FILCOLS if she and her team can complain about that incident even if the brochure and its contents were considered government works.

Alvin confirmed that government works do not have copyright. But it is still advisable to seek permission before using a government work and properly attribute the source or author. It must also be clear that a certain text or image should not be used in another publication without the permission of the office or person in charge. There should be contracts. And these should be stated in the contracts. If someone is trying to take credit for somebody else’s work, that is plagiarism in the making.

Rodrigo Javier of Pangasinan State University stated a situation where the author, after submitting an edition of a text book to a publisher, goes to another publisher after some time to submit another edition of the same text book. He asked if the author’s move was legal.

Alvin said that the author should check the contract first. If the author and the publisher share copyright, the author still has the right to send another edition to another publisher. But it is good practice to wait until the copies of the edition published by the first publisher have been sold out. So that the author and the new publisher will not be directly competing against the first publisher.

Sonny Villafania asked how he could get in touch with an organization in Romania that included one of his poems translated in Arabic in one of its publications. No one approached him to seek for his permit and absolutely no royalty was paid to him.

Alvin asked for the details of the book where Sonny’s poem was included. He will try to get in touch with the publisher and inquire about it.

Mrs. Elnora B. Dudang of Pangasinan State University, before throwing her question to the FILCOLS representative, recited a poem entitled Say Buek. She read it in two languages.

Here’s the poem in Pangasinan:
Say Buek

Say Buek ed olo:
Makapal, manorot.

Buek ed kirep:
Makapal, babagot-bagoten.

Buek ed eleng:
Napnoy kolangot.

Buek ed kilikili:
Ambange-banget.

Buek ed leksab:
Mangolet-kolet.

And in Filipino:

Ang Buhok

Buhok sa ulo:
Makapal, napapanot.

Buhok sa kilay:
Makapal, binubunot.

Buhok sa kilikili:
Ay! Mabantot!

Buhok sa ibaba:
Kulot na kulot.

Ang buhok, bow!

Everyone couldn’t stop laughing.

Then Mam Elnora asked Alvin if it’s okay to publish a compilation of laboratory exercises and activity sheets she found in different books. These exercises and sheets were for classroom use only. But she thought that these can be turned into a book.

Alvin said she may compile the materials for her own class only. People who compile articles, sheets and other written works are also called authors. But if she plans to have them published as a book then she has to create her own and just use the original exercises and sheets as inspiration.

Rodrigo Javier asked about IP policies in the academe. He wanted to know if it’s alright to copy portions of a student’s research and include it in one’s own research. He said that a lot of professors in some graduate schools are already doing this.

Alvin reiterated that the original author must be acknowledged at all times. Higher educational institutions are encouraged to create and implement their own IP policies to give more protection to their own authors and researchers as well.

Larry Millanes mentioned that UPSP helped in the publication of his wife’s book. UPSP acted as the publisher. UPSP lent the business registration and SEC registration and other legal and trade documents for the publication of the book.

Sonny Villafania warned everyone about some unscrupulous individuals in the Amazon.com
who are selling books written by other people. They act as if they are the legitimate publishers of these books. They use publish on demand system and ship the books to the unknowing buyers.

The question and answer portion ended with an entertaining number from one of the participants. Larry Millanes sang a song that he wrote and composed. The title is Pinabling Pangasinan. In Filipino, Minamahal kong Pangasinan. He performed it passionately. Everyone was impressed!

Mrs. Felicitas invited everyone to purchase Balon Silew, a magazine written in Pangasinan. Then she gave copies of it and copies of Tagano Ed Kelang to the FILCOLS and UMPIL team.

Beverly Siy, the Executive Officer of FILCOLS, delivered the closing remarks. She expressed gratitude to the co-organizers of the event: the Pangasinan Provincial Tourism Office led by Mrs. Malu Amor-Elduayan and Ulupan na Pansiansiay Salitan Pangasinan (UPSP) led by Erwin Fernandez. She also thanked Prof. Crisanta Nelmida-Flores and Santiago Villafania for their invaluable help during the planning phase of FILCOLS Huntahan in Pangasinan Project.

It was indeed a very productive afternoon. Fun in learning made this session a successful one.

FILCOLS receives support from the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE) and Kopinor. NORCODE is an international copyright development group funded by five copyright societies namely KOPINOR, GRAMO, TONO, BONO and NORWACO. KOPINOR is the reproduction rights (RRO) of Norway while FILCOLS is the RRO of the Philippines.


Written by Beverly W. Siy

Buhay na Titik: Copyright at ang Principle of National Treatment

ni Alvin J. Buenaventura ng FILCOLS

Copyright at ang Principle of National Treatment

Ang may kapangyarihan ay parating tama. Tama? Might makes right, tama?

Hindi yata.

Ang ideyang ito ay inobserbahan, dinanas, at ginawang paksa ng maraming debate simula pa noong dumami ang mga philosopher sa Greece.

Kawawa ang mga talunan sa gera. Madalas nga ay mas masuwerte pa ang mga sundalong namatay sa battlefield. Ang mga nakaligtas kasi sa gera ay nagiging alila ng mga mananakop. Pati ang kanilang mga anak at asawa ay ipinagbibili bilang mga alila.

At dahil gera at armas ang solusyon sa lahat ng usapin noon, ang may mga hawak ng armas at malalakas ang siyang nagdidikta kung ano ang tama. Ang mahihina ay nasa isang tabi lang ng lipunan kasama ang iba pang lahi na talunan din sa digmaan. Ang mundo ay nahahati lamang sa dalawa: master at slave. Amo at alila.

Ang ganitong pananaw ay laganap din sa Europe lalo na noong nasa kapangyarihan ang Nazis. Idinidikta ng may kapangyarihan at may armas kung ano ang tama. Ang batas ay nasa panig ng may hawak ng kapangyarihan. Ang mga dayuhan at ibang lahi ay etsapuwera na. Sa isang iglap ay kayang kunin ng may kapangyarihan ang hanapbuhay o ari-arian ng mga ito. Madalas pati buhay ng mga ito ay mabilis ding nakikitil.

Matapos ang World War II, pinaigting ng mga bansang nagtagumpay ang pagiging sibilisado. Hindi dapat maging malupit sa mga talunan, anila. Dapat maging respectful, merciful, at understanding mula ngayon. Kaya naman tinulungan pa nila ang Germany, Japan, Italy at iba pang Axis powers na makabangon at mapalakas ang kani-kanilang ekonomiya.

Pero pinaigting pa rin ang katarungan at pagpapatupad ng mga pangdaigdigang kasunduan. Binitay ang mga war criminal pero ang mga mamamayan ay hindi naman ginawan nang masama. Isa sa mga pundasyon ng pandaigdigang kasunduan ang principle of national treatment.

Ang prinsipyong ito ang nagsasabing ang lahat ng tao ay pantay-pantay sa mata ng batas. Dapat na pantay ang pagtrato ng pamahalaan o ng may kapangyarian sa locals at sa foreigners. Kung ang pag-aari at kabuhayan ng locals ay protektado, dapat na protektado din ang sa foreigners. Basta’t klaro lang na walang lumalabag sa batas. Kahit sino ka pa, dapat lang na dumaan ka rin sa tamang proseso o mabigyan ng pagkakataong maipagtanggol ang sarili sa harap ng batas. Ang dapat lang na mangibabaw ay ang rule of law.

Kaya naman sa Berne Convention, ang principle of national treatment ang pinakauna. Kung ang ari-arian ng locals ay protektado, dapat gayundin ang sa foreigners. Kung ang copyright ng locals ay nirerespeto, dapat na nirerespeto rin ang sa foreigners. At kung may benepisyo para sa mga local author, dapat na may benepisyo rin para sa foreigners.

Ang prinsipyong ito ay ipinatutupad sa lahat ng bansang pumirma sa international agreement o treaty na Berne Convention. Ibig sabihin, sa mga kasaping bansa ang lahat ng author o copyright owner ay tinatrato nang pantay at walang pagkiling.

Ang lahat ng manunulat at publisher ay inaanyayahang sumali sa FILCOLS. Wala pong membership fee. Ang mahalaga ay mayroon kayong published works. Magpunta sa filcols.blogspot.com para sa detalye. Kung may tanong hinggil sa tinalakay na paksa, mag-email lamang sa filcols@gmail.com.

Para sa Buhay na Titik, kolum ng FILCOLS sa pahayagang Responde Cavite ngayong 3 Pebrero 2011

FILCOLS is Going to Bacolod!

This is from nbdb.gov.ph.


NBDB holds 2011 Academic Publishing Conference in Bacolod City

On March 3 and 4, the National Book Development Board (NBDB), in partnership with University of St. La Salle Bacolod, will hold an academicpublishing conference themed “Venturing into Academic Publishing” at theUniversity of St. La Salle in Bacolod City.

The conference targets universities and commercial publishers in the regions and aims to provide them with the necessary knowledge needed to start and sustain a university-based publishing house. The NBDB will be flying in experts from the biggest university and commercial publishers in the country, including UST Publishing House’s John Jack Wigley (The UST Publishing House’s Experience), De La Salle University’s Isagani Cruz (The Academic Publishing Market and Distribution Channels; Putting Together an Academic Journal), Ateneo de Manila University’s Oscar Campomanes (The Basics of Writing Articles and the Journal Review Process), Central Book Supply’s Paolo Sibal (Publishing on Demand), and Vibal Publishing’s Kristine Mandigma (E-Publishing for Academic Publishers). Intellectual Property Office’s Atty.Louie Calvario will also give a talk on copyright basics for publishing and Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society’s (FILCOLS) Alvin Buenaventura will discuss authors’ reprographic rights. The title of his presentation is FILCOLS: Enforcing the Economic Rights of Copyright Owners.

Since 2007, the NBDB has been holding academic publishing conferences in key cities around the country.

To register, call the NBDB at 920-9853.

Who You Calling Spineless? -- The Collective Management of Copyright for Books in the Philippines

Written by Atty. Mark Robert Dy of IPOPHL


I just came from a forum by the Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society (FILCOLS) where they presented a solution to illegal photocopying of copyright-protected works.



FILCOLS Executive Director Alvin Buenaventura says that copyright is a human right and is necessary to protect the way of life and dignity of the author.


Entitled 'Copyright: Empowering the Research University', the forum was actually a pitch to De La Salle University (DLSU) to convince them to become the first university in the Philippines to enter into a licensing agreement with FILCOLS, as the Philippines' recognized Reprographic Rights Organization (RRO). If the negotiations proceed as planned, DLSU would be effectively be the first institution in the country to declare its respect for the intellectual property of authors.


It all sounds so grand, but several questions must come to mind. What is an RRO? What is the deal all about? Why is it so important?


An RRO is an organization that acts as an agent for publishers and authors in order to manage their copyrights. Also known as a Collective Management Organization (CMO), these organizations are tasked to collect royalties from users of copyright-protected works and distribute the same to the authors of these works. This way, the user obtains the freedom to make copies of works without the fear of committing copyright infringement, while the authors receive income for the use of their work.


An example of a working CMO in the Philippines is the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (FILSCAP), which manages the copyright-protected works in the music business. FILSCAP has successfully collected income in behalf of artists and composers for several years and now FILCOLS is seeking to do the same for the publishing industry.


The basis for creating RROs or CMOs is found in our IP Code:


Section 183. Designation of Society. - The copyright owners or their heirs may designate a society of artists, writers or composers to enforce their economic rights and moral rights on their behalf.


So what does FILCOLS offer the university? The freedom to photocopy any material from any publication without fear of incurring liability for copyright infringement. In exchange, the university will pay a per-student fee to FILCOLS per semester, which will be passed on to the students as a minimal increase in their tuition fees (about P100 or $2 per semester). This money will then be used to pay for the administrative costs of FILCOLS and then the remaining amount shall be distributed to the authors being represented by the organization.


In addition, the FILCOLS license acts as an quasi-insurance against liability for copyright infringement because FILCOLS will absorb liability up to a certain amount, even for works they do not represent. This effectively shields the university from legal liability and reputation damage. Theoretically, this license will even cover orphaned works, over which FILCOLS will hold the royalties in trust for the benefit of the missing author, in case he or she turns up.



Mr. Paul Wee, CEO of the Singapore-based Copyright Licensing and Administration Society of Singapore (CLASS), says that they are entering into an agreement with FILCOLS to protect Filipino works being used in Singapore and Singaporean works being used in the Philippines.


This elegant solution to copyright management has been found to be effective in the UK, France, Norway, Singapore and many other countries. FILCOLS is a member of the International Federation of Reprographic Rights Organisations (IFRRO), which is a global network of CMOs for the publishing industry. To protect foreign works, FILCOLS has entered into agreements with RROs from the United States, Singapore, UK and other countries to protect the works of their authors here in the Philippines. In turn, these foreign RROs have agreed protect Filipino works used in their countries and hold any collected royalties in trust for them.


The licensing activities of FILCOLS is an effective first step in promoting respect for copyright in the academe. It bears noting, however, that this license is directed at university-sanctioned copying (e.g. the production of course packs or handout compilations) and does not limit legitimate fair use activities by students and faculty under our IP Code.



Ms. Karen Pitt, General Counsel of the Australia-based Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), says that the educational system in Australia takes copyright very seriously. You cannot be considered a serious institution unless you are copyright compliant.


In the international academic community, respect of intellectual property rights has become an essential condition to be considered among the very best. Quality education requires intellectual honesty, which in turn, demands respect for other people's copyright and hard work.


In this country, where photocopiers and "book-alike" services abound, a major attitudinal change has to yet to be put in place.


FILCOLS is attempting to destroy the myth that respecting copyright is too expensive for a third world country. By spreading out the cost among the entire student population, the personal expense we incur to support our authors and publishers becomes minuscule compared to what we spend on notebooks, pens or mobile phone credit.


Our authors need to feed their families too. We simply cannot choose to pay for electricity and food but not pay for our music, books, art and other intellectual creations. Ignoring the plight of our talented brothers and sisters is to sentence the creative and intellectual industries to a slow and painful death.


As intelligent and talented as we are, unless we are paid fairly for our hard work, we will never be anything more than slaves.


... and there's no dignity in that.

FILCOLS sought and was granted the permission to repost this entry.

Source:
http://markrobertdy.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-you-calling-spineless-collective.html

Photos are FILCOLS' property.