PRESS RELEASE

PH accedes to the Marrakesh Treaty

secures wider access to published works for visually impaired persons

Photo: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Amb. Evan Garcia hands over the Instrument of Accession of the Philippines to the Marrakesh Treaty to WIPO Director Francis Gurry
in Geneva on 18 December 2018

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has secured wider access to novels,
textbooks, and other printed materials currently limited in distribution and production by copyright
law, for more than three million visually-impaired Filipinos.

On December 18, 2018, the Philippines deposited its instrument of accession to the Marrakesh Treaty
to Director General Francis Gurry of the World Intellectual Property Organization, a specialized agency
of the United Nations (UN) in charge of administering this Treaty. Amb. Evan P. Garcia of the Philippine
Mission to the UN and Other International Organizations facilitated this event.

The IPOPHL has been pushing for the country’s accession to the Treaty, in a bid to increase trade in
published materials in ‘accessible formats’ and institutionalizing freer production and distribution,
since its adoption in a diplomatic conference in Marrakesh, Morocco on June 27, 2013.

An accessible format copy is a copy of a work in an alternative manner or form which gives a
beneficiary person access to the work, including to permit the person to have access in the same way
as a person without visual impairment or other print disability. Publications in Braille format or audio
books, for example, are considered accessible format copies.

“With increased access to textbooks, novels, and other printed materials, the blind, visually-impaired,
and otherwise print-disabled persons are given an opportunity to further their education and cultural
appreciation. The spirit and intent of the Marrakesh Treaty will not only help reduce the ‘book famine’
experienced by these individuals, but will significantly empower them to seize opportunities that
access to information has opened, and pave the way for a more inclusive society,” said IPOPHL
Director General Josephine R. Santiago.

With the accession, the Philippines agrees to provide some exceptions and limitations to rules in its
national copyright law to allow converting published works in formats accessible to the blind, visually
impaired, and otherwise print disabled persons (VIPs).

However, on February 28, 2013, in anticipation of the country’s accession to the Treaty, the
Philippines has already introduced the intent and spirit of the Marrakesh Treaty through Republic Act
No. 10372, the latest amendment to the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

The amendment introduced measures allowing the reproduction or distribution of published articles
or materials in a specialized format exclusively for the use of blind, visually-, and reading-impaired
persons, provided, that such copies and distribution shall be made on a non-profit basis and shall
indicate the copyright owner and the date of the original publication. This is considered a limitation on
copyright and will not constitute as copyright infringement.

To further enhance access, IPOPHL provided wider copyright limitation provision in its latest
amendatory, draft bill submitted to Congress in November. The provision widened the scope of
copyright limitation not just to the blind, visually-impaired, and otherwise print-disabled persons, but
also those unable (through physical disability) to hold or manipulate a book, or to focus or move the
eyes to the extent normally acceptable for reading.

“This will go a long way to enhance access to information if approved by Congress and the President,”
said Director General Santiago.

In addition, the Marrakesh Treaty allows the Philippines to export and import copyrighted works in
accessible formats to and from other countries that are party to the agreement. To date, there are 47
countries contracting parties to the Marrakesh Treaty.

This important development in local copyright law is also seen to significantly help in the Department
of Education’s mandate to ensure equal access to education regardless of their physical state or
disability.
THE BENEFITS OF THE MARRAKESH TREATY

The Philippines acceded to the Marrakesh Treaty on November 12, 2018, and will come into effect on
March 19, 2019.

The Marrakesh Treaty is an international treaty aimed to ease access to print works in formats adapted
for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. It does this by requiring
countries or territories who adopt the Treaty, to give exceptions in its traditional copyright law.

Copyright law gives exclusive rights to authors on how their works are reproduced, distributed, and
made available to the public. If a work is protected by copyright, no one apart from the copyright owner
is allowed to reproduce, distribute, and make their work available to the public without the copyright
holder’s authorization.

But by adopting the Marrakesh Treaty, contracting countries are expected to ease these rights in their
domestic copyright law so that published works can be made into accessible formats without prior
authorization from the copyright holder.

These accessible formats include but are not limited to, Braille, large-print format, and audio version.
An accessible format is any format which allows access to a copyright work in “as comfortably as a
person without visual impairment or other print disability”.

How are these exceptions to copyright law made?

In some cases, countries make amendments on their intellectual property laws. In the Philippines,
these exceptions are already in the last amendment of the Intellectual Property Code but the country’s
adoption of the Treaty strengthens the exceptions to copyright.

How?

For one, the Marrakesh Treaty allows ‘authorized entities’ to convert the copyrighted works into
accessible formats and distribute them, as long as it is done on a non-profit basis, and will be
exclusively for people with visual impairment.

These authorized entities can be an entity recognised by the government to provide education,
instructional training, and adaptive reading or information access to visually-impaired persons.

Another way is that the Treaty allows authorized entities to import and export copyrighted works in
accessible formats (from other Marrakesh Treaty signatories) again, without asking permission from
the author.

The visually impaired person himself, or someone acting for him, may convert the copyrighted work
into an accessible format so long as he has legal access to that work beforehand.

Can authorized entities just produce and distribute these accessible format copies to anyone?

No. Authorized entities are allowed to make, or obtain from another authorized entity an accessible
format copy without authorization from the right holder then distribute these to beneficiary persons, IF
• They have lawful access to that work or a copy of that work;
• the work is converted to an accessible format copy, but does not introduce changes other than
those needed to make the work accessible to the beneficiary person;
• Accessible format copies are supplied exclusively to be used by beneficiary persons; and
• the activity is undertaken on a non-profit basis

What are the benefits of acceding to the Marrakesh Treaty?

By agreeing to make exceptions in its national copyright law, the Philippines is opening the gates to
wider and easier access to printed materials to more than 3 million visually impaired Filipinos.

It has always been difficult to get permission not only from the authors of the books, but also the
copyright holders to such works, including the publisher.

This barrier prevents the visually-impaired to advance their education and cultural appreciation. Giving
them access to the wealth of knowledge in printed works will not just improve their quality of life but will
empower them to seize opportunities that come with access to information.
EXECUTIVE PROFILE

DIRECTOR GENERAL JOSEPHINE R. SANTIAGO LL.M.

Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)

Director General Josephine Rima-Santiago’s expansive and extensive

experience in the field of the intellectual property system traverses two
decades in government and in the private realm.

In government, she was former Deputy Director General, Intellectual

Property Office (1999-2002); Director, Technology Application and
Promotion Institute of the Dept. of Science and Technology (2006-2008);
and an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner, Intellectual
Property Office of the Philippines (2011-2015). In the private sector, she
was an intellectual property rights consultant and legal practitioner,
professor of law, educator, and researcher.

When she assumed office as the fourth Director General of the

Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) on 08 October
2015, Atty. Santiago has come full circle bringing with her a distinctly
holistic understanding, experience and skills needed to manage the lead national government agency in charge of
intellectual property. A review of the office’s vision, mission and core values, internal policies and procedures have
taken priority and led to significant changes to instill a culture of performance excellence and integrity among the
employees. To ensure the implementation of its mandates, DG Santiago formulated the SMELT IP (Services, Mind to
Market, Enforcement and Adjudication, Learning, Technology, Infrastructure, and Partnerships) Agenda. Under her
watch, the IPOPHL has expanded its e-services allowing not only online filing but secured on-line correspondences
between the applicant and the office until its final disposition envisioned to further improve turnaround time, which as
it is is already one of the best turn-around times in the ASEAN. She has completed a Compendium of the Implementing
Rules and Regulations, a user-friendly tool for researchers and practitioners aimed at providing accurate reference
materials. A backlog reduction program undertaken in 2017 on adjudication had eliminated cases that have been long
pending thereby contributing to further improvement in the disposition of cases.

She also successfully led the country’s bid to be appointed as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and
International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) by Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO), the second in the ASEAN and the 23rd in the world. In the priority of DG Santiago include the formulation and
implementation of a Philippine National Intellectual Property Strategy (NIPS), the establishment of the Intellectual
Property Academy, which will become the country’s foremost institution of learning and research on intellectual
property, in addition to our advocacy of including intellectual property in the academic curriculum. She is pushing for
the submission of a draft bill amending the Intellectual Property Code.

As a former legal practitioner and educator, she engaged in a modest legal practice in her own law firm while being a
faculty member at the Faculties of Law of the De La Salle University and the Arellano University where she taught
Intellectual Property Law for almost ten years. She held the distinction of being the only Filipino Faculty on Advanced
Patent at the WIPO Academy’s Distance Learning Program since more than five years ago and served as resource
person in various conferences, workshops and seminars, both local and international. As an ADR advocate, she was
among those appointed as ADR Specialist by the Office of the President (2007) and included in the WIPO List of
Neutrals of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (2015).

A graduate of the University of the Philippines with the degrees of B.S. in Foreign Service and Bachelor of Laws, DG
Santiago further obtained the degree of Master of Laws in Intellectual Property from the joint program of the University
of Turin in Italy and the WIPO Worldwide Academy.
EXECUTIVE PROFILE

ATTY. TEODORO C. PASCUA

Deputy Director General
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)

Atty. Teodoro C. Pascua is currently the Deputy Director General (DDG)

for Management Services, External Relations and Policy (MSERP) of the
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). As Deputy
Director General, he oversees the Documentation, Information, and
Technology Transfer Bureau or the Innovation Bureau; Bureau of
Copyright and Other Related Rights; Financial, Management and
Administrative Services; Management Information Service; and Office for
Strategy Management. He is responsible for Policy Formulation,
International Relations, Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements, and Free
Trade Negotiations, among others. Additionally, he is in charge of the
Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Office. Atty. Pascua was
previously Undersecretary for the Consumer Protection Group of the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), from August 2016 to January
2018.

He was formerly Deputy Director General for Technical Education and Skills Development Operations of the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) from August 2010 to July 2016.

He also served as a legal assistant in the Bureau of Employment Services of the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) in 1981. He had been involved in the legal matters of several private entities like the City land Development
Corporation where he served as legal counsel. Until his engagement with government in 2010, he has been in active
practice of law since 1983 in various law firms notably Bito Misa Lozada Law Offices, Misa Law Office & Pascua & Zuñiga
Law Office and Yulo Aliling Pascua & Zuñiga Law Offices.

Atty. Pascua completed his Bachelor of Arts from the University of the Philippines (UP) Manila in 1978 and was elected
to the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. He finished his Bachelor of Laws from the UP College of Law in 1982 and passed
the Bar in 1983.