The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Manila International Airport Authority to prevent the transport of intellectual property-infringing goods and raise awareness on the prohibition of traveling with counterfeit items.
“As we see no signs of the ‘revenge travel easing,’ MIAA stands as a relevant partner to IPOPHL in ensuring tourists or returning residents observe our IP laws,” said IPOPHL director-general Rowel Barba.
The partnership comes amid the “revenge travel” wave, in which travelers book numerous trips to make up for lost opportunities during COVID-19.
About 2.6 million travelers visited the Philippines in 2022, exceeding the Department of Tourism’s target of 1.7 million. This year, the DOT aims to attract 5 million tourists.
“Our MOU also assures that we have MIAA’s full cooperation in ensuring ‘IP-safe travels.’ By ‘safe’, we mean destinations are safeguarded from counterfeit goods. We achieve this by jointly developing efficient measures to thwart the importation, exportation and sale of such goods through and at the airport, all while keeping in mind the convenience of our travelers,” Barba said.
He said the partnership would not add tedious processes and requirements that burden travelers.
IPOPHL, in coordination with other member agencies of the National Committee on IP Rights, will provide MIAA staff with training to strengthen their understanding of IP laws, rules and regulations and capacities in identifying counterfeit goods.
Together, MIAA and IPOPHL will share critical information and statistics to monitor the movement of counterfeit goods and help other enforcement agencies in their surveillance and investigation of identities involved in IP infringement to the extent permitted by the Data Privacy Law of 2012.
Under Section 118 of the Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tarrification Act of 2016, IP infringing goods as defined by Republic Act 8293 or the IP Code are prohibited from being imported and exported. Any person who violates the CMTA could face penalties of P100,000 to P300,000 and/or imprisonment of 31 days to 1 year.
The warning of bringing in IP infringing goods is only part of various declaration forms at the entry points of the airport.
“We hope we can conduct joint IP awareness activities, and put up more information materials on IP in areas in airports that are highly visible to the public,” Barba said.
MIAA is a government-owned and controlled corporation and agency under the Department of Transportation. It is responsible for managing the Ninoy Aquino International Airport formerly Manila International Airport.
