Intellectual Property Law Atty. Ginalyn M. Sacmar-Badiola 1.

Distinguish moral rights from economic rights of rights holders as to the coverage of these rights, and the transferability or assignment of copyright. Copyright provides the rights of holders which can be classified into two: first is Economic Rights which refer to the rights of the author or copyright owner to derive financial reward from the use of his works by others; and second is Moral Rights which refer to the rights of the author to claim authorship of the work and the right to restrain the use of his name with respect to any work not of his own creation or a distorted version of his work. Copyright covers literary and artistic works, and every original work of authorship regardless of artistic or literary merit. Works covered by copyright include but are not limited to literary works such as novels, poems and plays; newspaper articles; films and television programs; letters; artistic works including paintings, sculptures, drawing and photographs; architecture; computer programs; and advertisements, maps and technical drawings. The exclusive economic rights of creators include the right to: reproduce, publish, perform or display in public, broadcast, make an adaptation/ dramatization/translation, or first sale, and the right to rental of the original or copy of an audiovisual or cinematographic work, or sound recording, computer program, including the right to make commercial rental arrangements as provided under the law Moral rights are holder's right independent from economic rights which are broader in scope, these are: The right to be prominently displayed as the creator of the copyrighted material, in any form practical to the work; the right to change or even withhold the work from circulation; the right to object to any alteration detrimental to the name of the creator of the material; and the right to restrain the use of the creator's name in a work not of his making. Copyright holders are not allowed to be forced to create or publish his or her works already published, as that could be classified as a breach of contract. However, the copyright holder could also be held liable for breach of contract. The Law also permits the waiver of moral rights, except when the creator's name will be used to damage the reputation of another person, and when the creator's name will be used to give credit to something he or she did not make.

The coverage of protection for copyrighted works differs. The rights of authors of literary works are covered during their lifetime and fifty (50) years after death. For joint authors, the coverage lasts during their lifetimes and fifty (50) years after the death of the last surviving author. For anonymous/pseudonymous works, the coverage lasts fifty (50) years from the date when the work was first lawfully published. For applied art, it is twenty-five (25) years from the date of making. For photographic and audiovisual works, it is fifty (50) years from publication, and if unpublished, fifty (50) years from the making. Performers are protected fifty (50) years from the end of the year when the performance took place. Recording companies are granted fifty (50) years from the end of the year when the recording took place. Broadcasts are covered twenty (20) years from the date the broadcast took place. Because works are automatically protected from the moment of creation, the protection applied for published works (which is the lifeplus-fifty-years rule) now also apply for unpublished works. The old concept of perpetual protection for unpublished material is gone. Under an assignment, the rights owner transfers the right to authorize or prohibit certain acts covered by one, several, or all rights under copyright. An assignment is a transfer of a property right. So if all rights are assigned, the person to whom the rights were assigned becomes the new owner of copyright. The copyright may be assigned in whole or in part. Within the scope of the assignment, the assignee is entitled to all the rights and remedies which the assignor had with respect to the copyright. The copyright is not deemed assigned inter vivos in whole or in part unless there is a written indication of such intention. The submission of a literary, photographic or artistic work to a newspaper, magazine or periodical for publication shall constitute only a license to make a single publication unless a greater right is expressly granted. If two (2) or more persons jointly own a copyright or any part thereof, neither of the owners shall be entitled to grant licenses without the prior written consent of the other owner or owners. The copyright is distinct from the property in the material object subject to it. Consequently, the transfer or assignment of the copyright shall not itself constitute a transfer of the material object. Nor shall a transfer or assignment of the sole copy or of one or several copies of the work imply transfer or assignment of the copyright. An assignment or exclusive license may be filed in duplicate with the National Library upon payment of the prescribed fee for registration in books and records kept for the purpose. Upon recording, a copy of the instrument shall be returned to the sender with a notation of the fact of record. Notice of the record shall be published in the IPO Gazette. 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.