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FILSCAP: Only 2 bets have licenses to use copyrighted music for campaigns


Out of all the candidates gunning for electoral posts in the midterm elections next month, only two of them secured the necessary licenses for their respective campaign jingles, the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc. (FILSCAP) said.

According to data from the FILSCAP sent to reporters by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), only two candidates have secured a public performance license as of April 12.

FILSCAP is the collective management organization accredited by the IPOPHIL to license the public playing of copyrighted music, which several candidates use for their campaign jingles.

"Generally, there are three copyright licenses that must be secured by political candidates who intend to use copyrighted music," said FILSCAP General Counsel Michael Hernandez.

According to Hernandez, political candidates must secure the following licenses:

  • Modification or adaptation license if the lyrics of a copyrighted song will be changed or modified into a campaign jingle
  • Reproduction license if a copyrighted song will be recorded or copied whether the lyrics are revised or not
  • Public performance license if a copyrighted song will be played to the public as a campaign jingle or as entertainment or background music during a campaign rally or event

According to FILSCAP, the two candidates who secured such licenses are senatorial candidate Christopher "Bong" Go and mayoral candidate Jon Wilfredo "JT" Trinidad.

"[M]ost of the political candidates are still not aware that a license must also be secured if copyrighted music will be played as background or entertainment music during a campaign event," said IPOPHIL.

"For instance, many candidates engage singers and dancers to entertain the crowd at a campaign rally and while those performers are remunerated for their performance, the creators of the copyrighted songs used in performance are not," it elaborated.

Under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, a candidate engaged in the unlicensed or unauthorized public playing of copyright music could be held civilly and criminally liable for copyright infringement. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News

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