CELEBS TALK ABOUT RISKS OF PIRACY AND CYBERCRIME

Since the early '90s, when compact discs (CDs) proliferated around, piracy became rampant. Undoubtedly, piracy has tremendously affected the local film industry, especially now, when in just a click of a button, one can easily access anything bootleg in software.

- By LEAH C. SALTERIO

Members of the entertainment industry recently engaged in a fireside chat on the crippling effects of piracy in the entertainment industry. TV host Kuya Kim Atienza, actress Shaina Magdayao and actor Edu Manzano sat down with moderator Pia Guanio and talked about piracy.

The anti-piracy symposium was jointly organized by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), GMA Network, Inc. and Globe to address the risks associated with piracy and cybercrime.

Globe's chief sustainability and corporate communications officer, Yoly Crisanto, emphasized that amending the Intellectual Property Code to enable site-blocking is crucial to protect Filipino consumers and the digital ecosystem. She urged Congress to pass this legislation before the current session ends.

Edu experienced actual enforcement when he took on the task of being the first chairman of the Optical Media Board (OMB) from 2004 to 2010.

"What used to come into the country were the huge replicating machines, which cost about P20 million each," shared Edu. "It could produce one million CDs a day. That became a vicious cycle."

"At that time, we were working closely with the Motion Picture Association of America, the business software alliance and recording companies.

"From London, the Motion Picture Association of America brought in polycarbonate-sniffing dogs and they could smell through walls, including the pirates. They can smell through food and under extreme heat conditions. The dogs were very, very effective.