Hong Kong, October 18, 2007 – Regional industry body the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) today commended a Department of Justice (DoJ) decision in a copyright case filed against Cotabato City cable TV operator Maguindanao Skycable CATV, Inc.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) issued its “Resolution” upholding broadcasters’ copyright over their “original works and programming” on October 10th.
In the new Resolution the DoJ found Maguindanao Skycable had “distributed TV programs, program promotions and other audiovisual works without the consent of the copyright holders in violation of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines”.
The copyright holders in the on-going case include pay-TV channel providers AXN, CNN, Discovery Channel, ESPN Star Sports, HBO Asia, MTV Asia, National Geographic Channels International, STAR Group, Turner Entertainment and Walt Disney Television.
The DoJ confirmed that content providers hold the exclusive right to make their content available to the public and any act of distributing such content, including distribution via cable, without authorization amounts to copyright infringement.
“This decision demonstrates the DoJ’s commitment to upholding Intellectual Property Rights, and the business community welcomes it warmly. It will be good for the country’s investment climate,” said Simon Twiston Davies, the CASBAA CEO. “This should help build new confidence in the Philippines pay-TV market and boost the economic prospects of the Philippines.”
Law firm Villaraza & Angangco, who represented the broadcasting organizations, also lauded the DoJ, saying the “Resolution” sends a strong signal that the Philippines adheres to its commitment to protect intellectual property rights.
“This is a positive development in the battle against cable piracy since it affirms not only the exclusive rights of broadcasting organizations to their own broadcasts but also their copyright over their original audiovisual works and programming, which is a right separate and distinct from their broadcasting rights,” said Villaraza.
CASBAA stressed that the industry will continue its long-term campaign to defend pay-TV copyright and that Philippine cable TV operators who have been refusing to pay legitimate fees for content will have to “go legitimate'”.
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About CASBAA – www.casbaa.com
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 125 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include AETN International (History Channel), Asia Broadcast Networks, Asia Broadcast Satellite, AsiaSat, Astro, Australia Network, Bloomberg Television, Chunghwa Telecom, Discovery Networks Asia, Genesis Networks, Granada International/ITV Worldwide, HBO Asia, Intelsat, Macquarie, MediaFLO Technologies, Motorola, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SES New Skies, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, TrueVisions, Turner International Asia Pacific, Walt Disney Television International, Zonemedia, Al Jazeera, Amarchand Mangaldas, Asian Food Channel, BBC Global Channels Asia-Pacific, Celestial Movies, Deutsche Welle, ESPN STAR Sports, Hallmark Channel, GMA Network Inc., GroupM, Fu Yang Media, HiT Entertainment, Hong Kong Cable TV, Irdeto, KDB Skylife, Lovells, Measat, MGM Networks, Minter Ellison, National Geographic, Network18, Paul Weiss, Playboy TV, ProtoStar, PT Direct Vision, SAT-GE, Tandberg Television, Tata Sky, Ten Sports, TimeWarner, Viaccess and Zee TV.
For enquiries, please contact:
CASBAA
Helen Shek / Katie Wong
Marketing Communications
Tel: +852 2854 9943
Fax: +852 2854 9530
Email: pr@casbaa.com