FILCOLS Talk at the Artipulo Festival 2013 with FILVADRO

FILCOLS' Executive Director Alvin J. Buenaventura delivered a talk on copyright as human right last 23 February 2013 at the Event Center, 3L, SM City Masinag, Antipolo. His talk was part of the Copyright Orientation Forum that was intended to help the community of artists deepen their knowledge about intellectual property and copyright. FILCOLS partner Siyudad ng Antipolo Artists Guild (SINAG) headed by visual artist Rizaldy Arbozo organized the event as part of the Artipulo Festival 2013. The Festival is the city's contribution to the nationwide celebration of the National Arts Month this February.

After Buenaventura's engaging lecture, a FILCOLS member went up the stage to talk about the process of writing. Beverly Siy also shared some stories from her life (hardships included) as a creative writer in the Philippines. After FILCOLS' presentation, the FILVADRO team conquered the stage.

FILVADRO or Filipino Visual Arts and Design Rights Organization was represented by its president Miss Karen O. Flores. She talked about artists' rights and introduced the concept of collective management as a service for the visual artists. A short animated film also helped in introducing FILVADRO to the audience which was composed of teachers, students, writers and artists from the province
of Rizal.

Then came the open forum. Miss Flores was joined by Atty. Mark Robert Dy, a creative industries consultant. He is also FILVADRO's legal counsel. Together, they answered queries from the audience and addressed the issues that were presented by some members of the audience.

The event ended with an invitation for membership from FILCOLS and FILVADRO and the distribution of certificates for all the participants.

This event was made possible through the efforts and generosity of SINAG and SINAG Viva Art Group in cooperation with SM City Masinag.  

Filipino authors and educational institutions to benefit from new Copyright Bill

“The new Copyright Bill will help authors receive just compensation for the use of their writings. It will also make educational institutions respect copyright,” Dr. Isagani R. Cruz said in support of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL). IPOPHIL leads several stakeholders in encouraging Pres. Noynoy Aquino to sign the bill into law.

Dr. Cruz is the chair of Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society (FILCOLS), a not-for-profit organization of Filipino authors, publishers, and other copyright owners. FILCOLS has been working since 2009 to change the Fair Use provision in the IP Code from “multiple copies for classroom use” to “limited copies for classroom use.”

The old provision allowing “multiple copies for classroom use” was the excuse used by many educational institutions to violate the rights of authors. Due to the massive and systematic photocopying of copyrighted works for internal use of educational institutions, numerous Filipino authors were deprived of royalties. FILCOLS considers unlicensed photocopying as theft of intellectual property.

 

“Multiple copies for classroom use may not necessarily be fair use,” Dr. Cruz wrote in his column at the Philippine Star. Click here to view the article.

Every school year, educational institutions allow millions of students and their teachers to violate the rights of authors.

    

“FILCOLS believes in the balancing of rights. We agree that some use may be within Fair Use, but we know that in practice the systematic, massive photocopying goes beyond what is fair to authors and publishers. For this reason, The Manila Times College, which I also head as president, was the first institutional licensee of FILCOLS and the first school to be copyright compliant,” Dr. Cruz stressed.

As part of the K to 12 reform program, the Department of Education (DepEd) set a good example of respect for intellectual property when it successfully obtained a license from FILCOLS allowing public school students to use copyrighted materials in Grade 1 and Grade 7 modules.

FILCOLS Member Annie Lumbao offers bookmaking for kids

Registration is now open for Adarna House's summer workshop: bookmaking for kids.

In this workshop, kids will make their own books starting with their own story, drawing their own illustrations, and designing their own book cover. This workshop will be facilitated by FILCOLS Member Annie Lumbao, member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang InK) and author of But That Won’t Wake Me Up!, winner of the Filipino Readers’ Choice Award 2012 for the children’s picture book category!

For details, please check the link from Adarna House:

http://adarnahouse.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/register-now-bookmaking-for-kids/

Virgin Labfest YEAR 9 is now open for script submissions

The Virgin Labfest YEAR 9 is now open for script submissions. The Virgin Labfest is an annual festival of unpublished, unstaged, untried and untested works for the theater held in the middle of the year (June to July) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This festival is a partnership project of the Writer's Bloc, Inc., Tanghalang Pilipino, Inc. and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

This year, the Virgin Labfest will choose nine (9) "virgin" one-act plays and one (1) full length play.

The Virgin Labfest is open to submissions of the following written works:

1. one-act plays, 
(maximum running time: 40 minutes)

2. full-length plays, 
(minimum running time: 1 hour 20 minutes; maximum running time: 2 hours)

3. All submitted works must NOT have previously been

- published in book form;
- staged commercially for more than two performances (staged readings, one-time workshop productions are allowed);
- awarded any literary or drama recognition in competitions and the like

4. works may be in Filipino or English.

The festival is open to various themes and genres. While we continue to uphold this principle, this year, however, the Virgin Labfest hopes to include works that fall into these categories:

1. Regional Language plays: plays written in Hiligaynon, Cebuano and/or Ilocano. 

2. Plays for children (special venue)

Submission Deadline is on MARCH 31, 2013

Send your submissions either

1) in .doc or .pdf format only to 
rodyvera@yahoo.com or 
drama_ccp@yahoo.com

OR

2) deliver at least two hard copies of the manuscript to

CLOTILDE LUCERO or NIKKI TORRES
Performing Arts Department 
Upper Basement 
Cultural Center of the Philippines 
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 

Submissions should indicate name and contact address of the playwright. 

We hope to hear from you!

Bagong Aklat ni FILCOLS Member Dr. Elizabeth Morales-Nuncio

Mula kay Dr. Elizabeth Morales-Nuncio

Malugod namin kayong inaanyayahan para sa lunsad-aklat ni Dr. Elizabeth Morales-Nuncio. Ang Siyudad ng Mall: Ang Bakod, Bukod at Buklod bilang Espasyo at Biswal mula Tabuan hanggang SM City North Edsa ay inilimbag ng De La Salle University Publishing House. Kasama ring ilulunsad ang iba pang titulo ng DLSUPH. Gaganapin sa Henry Sy Sr. Hall De La Salle University, Taft Avenue, Manila, ganap na ika- 2:40 hanggang 4:00 n.h.

February 14 is the International Book Giving Day! It's perfectly sweet to give gifts!

February 14 is a day of love, and a day of book-giving! International Book Giving Day is a volunteer-initiated celebration that aims to put a book in the hands of every child.

For the rest of the article, kindly check this link from FILCOLS Member Adarna House:
http://adarnahouse.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/feb-14-is-international-book-giving-day/

Virgin Lab Fest 9 Call for Submission

The Virgin Labfest YEAR 9 is now open for script submissions. The Virgin Labfest is an annual festival of unpublished, unstaged, untried and untested works for the theater held in the middle of the year (June to July) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. This festival is a partnership project of the Writer's Bloc, Inc., Tanghalang Pilipino, Inc. and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

This year, the Virgin Labfest will choose nine (9) "virgin" one-act plays and one (1) full length play.

The Virgin Labfest is open to submissions of the following written works:

1. one-act plays, 
(maximum running time: 40 minutes)

2. full-length plays, 
(minimum running time: 1 hour 20 minutes; maximum running time: 2 hours)

3. All submitted works must NOT have previously been

- published in book form;
- staged commercially for more than two performances (staged readings, one-time workshop productions are allowed);
- awarded any literary or drama recognition in competitions and the like

4. works may be in Filipino or English.

The festival is open to various themes and genres. While we continue to uphold this principle, this year, however, the Virgin Labfest hopes to include works that fall into these categories:

1. Regional Language plays: plays written in Hiligaynon, Cebuano and/or Ilocano. 

2. Plays for children (special venue)

Submission Deadline is on MARCH 31, 2013

Send your submissions either

1) in .doc or .pdf format only to 
rodyvera@yahoo.com or 
drama_ccp@yahoo.com

OR

2) deliver at least two hard copies of the manuscript to

CLOTILDE LUCERO or NIKKI TORRES
Performing Arts Department 
Upper Basement 
Cultural Center of the Philippines 
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City 

Submissions should indicate name and contact address of the playwright. 

We hope to hear from you!