Viva is first entertainment firm to sign anti-piracy MOU

Viva Holdings and its 37 subsidiaries signed on Tuesday, April 15, the E-Commerce Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen protection of its content and retail products across digital platforms, making it the first entertainment-driven company to fight piracy and counterfeiting online through the agreement.The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), which facilitates the MOU, said Viva’s entry into the MOU is a major step forward in encouraging more creatives to protect their intellectual property (IP) rights.“The more stakeholders we encourage to join the E-Commerce MOU, the more cooperation we have, giving IP rights holder signatories like Viva a more efficient mechanism to protect their content from pirated uploads and streaming, as well as inspire other content creators to take charge of their IP assets,” said IPOPHL director general Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz added.

Established in 2021, the MOU establishes a voluntary code of practice among e-commerce stakeholders, making it easier to identify and take down infringing goods and content. It is touted as a model of cooperative enforcement, especially valuable in a digital economy where pirated materials can spread in seconds.Vic del Rosario Jr.



, chairman and CEO of Viva Communications, said the move will help protect the company’s content assets against piracy which he estimates is threatening 80% of its potential revenue.“If not for piracy, we could have a bigger budget to create more content for our audience to enjoy, but we’re getting less than what we hope to get. If not for piracy, we could be a formidable creative economy on par with South Korea,” he added.

While he recognized how the streaming business has pushed their profits to new record highs, he lamented how the digital age made piracy faster and more sophisticated, requiring innovative strategies to swiftly take down pirated streaming links and hard drives containing massive volumes of Viva content being sold online.“If you see the effort that goes into creating films and shows, it’s disheartening to then find that same content being made available on e-commerce platforms. It invalidates the talent and hard work of Filipino creatives.

It can really be discouraging,” del Rosario added.With Viva’s agreement to the MOU, signatories now total 105, comprising companies, industry groups, business chambers and platforms.The post Viva is first entertainment firm to sign anti-piracy MOU appeared first on Newsbytes.

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