PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ignatius Michael Ingles, The Law Firm of Ingles Laurel Calderon
• uses the portrait of a dead president, during the life of their spouse, except with the latter’s consent; • is misleading as to nature, quality, character - istic or geographical origin; • is generic or simply identifies the product it will be used on; • is simply descriptive of the product; or • is contrary to public order or morals. Notable registered sports trade marks involve collegiate teams, where the numerous marks associated to a college or university are all reg - istered with the IPO and the respective brands of sports teams and the companies which own them. 5.2 Copyright/Database Rights The law on copyright is found in Part IV of the Code. Under the Code, literary and artistic works are considered original intellectual creations, and are protected from the moment of their creation. Common defences include fair use, the fact that the work is a non-copyrightable work, private reproduction in a single copy for use in study or research and personal use. As regards the existence of a legal database right, the law on copyright protects the creation of the database, as it might be considered as a derivative work or as a compilation of data and other materials. To establish a claim, it must be proven that the process of creating the data - base (such as the selection, co-ordination and arrangement of the compiled information and data) is original to the maker. 5.3 Image Rights and Other IP Image rights in the Philippines generally equate to the right of publicity (a right recognised in the United States). While the right of publicity has yet to explicitly find its way into Filipino jurispru -
dence or express provisions of law, aggrieved parties may use Section 169.1 of the Code for relief. This Section refers to false designations of origin or false description or representation. World Champion Boxer Manny Pacquiao used Section 169.1 to sue a videoke product-maker for making use of his image without his consent. He won the case in the Court of Appeals in 2009, with the Court of Appeals stating that Pacquiao’s image should be protected from unauthorised endorsements under Section 169.1. 5.4 Licensing Sports bodies and athletes monetise their IP and image rights through licensing and endorsement contracts. In terms of assigning IP rights to third parties, the assignment must be in writing and filed with the IPO. If the assignment is not regis - tered, it is void as to third parties. However, it is still binding between the parties. 5.5 Sports Data The use of athlete and spectator data is not as extensive in the Philippines as compared to oth - er jurisdictions. However, there has been a push to commercialise and monetise sports data in live sports events to further enhance fan experi - ence. The recent legalisation of sports betting has opened up opportunities for monetising sports data but it still has to comply with any data-sharing regulations under the Data Privacy The DPA is the main law which governs data protection in the Philippines. It is supplement - ed by the Implementing Rules and Regulations (the “IRR” ) issued by the National Privacy Com - mission (the “NPC” ), which is the government agency tasked with implementing the DPA. The DPA protects any personal information, defined Act of 2012 (the “DPA” ). 5.6 Data Protection
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