Commercial and Taxation Laws › Intellectual Property Law (RA 8293, as amended by RA 9150, 9502, and 10372) › Copyright
2. Ownership of Copyright
Rules on Ownership
Copyright ownership shall be governed by the following rules:
| TYPE OF WORK | OWNERSHIP |
| Original Literary and Artistic Works | Copyright belongs to the author of the work. |
| Joint Authorship | • Co-authors shall be the original owners of the copyright. • In the absence of agreement, rights shall be governed by the rules on co-ownership.Note: If a work of joint authorship consists of parts that can be used separately and the author of each part can be identified, the author of each part shall be the original owner of the copyright in the part that he has created. |
| Employee’s Work | Copyright shall belong to: 1. Employee: creation of the object of copyright is not a part of his regular duties even if the employee uses the time, facilities and materials of the employer. 2. Employer: work is the result of the performance of his regularly-assigned duties, UNLESS there is an agreement, express or implied, to the contrary |
| Independent Contractor’s Work | Ownership of the work belongs to the person other than the employer who commissioned the work and who pays for it.Copyright remains with the creator, unless there is a written stipulation to the contrary. |
| Audiovisual Work | • Copyright belongs to the producer, the author of the scenario, the composer of the music, the film director, and the author of the work so adapted. • The producer shall exercise the copyright to an extent required for the exhibition of the work in any manner.Exception: Right to collect performing license fees for the performance of musical compositions, with or without words, which are incorporated into the work |
| Letters | Copyright belongs to the writer subject to the provisions of Article 723 of the Civil Code wherein it provides that the court may authorize their publication or dissemination if the public good or the interest of justice so requires. |
Updated: For a commissioned work, the copyright belongs to the creator, not the person who commissioned it, unless there is a written stipulation to the contrary (Republic v. Heirs of Tupaz, G.R. No. 197335, 10 October 2022).
Authorship
An author is “he to whom anything owes its origin; originator; maker; one who completes a work of science or literature.” (Burrow-Giles Lithographic Company v. Sarony, 111 U.S. 53, 1884)1
Note: The author must be a natural person. (Sec. 171.1, IP Code)2
Authorities
- Burrow-Giles Lithographic Company v. Sarony
- Civil Code, Sec. 723
- IP Code, Sec. 171
- Republic v. Heirs of Tupaz, G.R. No. 197335, 10 October 2022