The interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) seized P40.99 billion worth of counterfeit products in 2024, after an intensified campaign against the sale of fake items.
The amount surpassed the estimated value of P26.99 billion recorded in 2023 by 52 percent, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said.
NCIPR places the value of counterfeit products by estimating their market value based on the retail price of the genuine equivalent product, IPOPHL said.
NCIPR is an interagency body that is tasked to strengthen the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the country. It is composed of 15 members with the Department of Trade and Industry as chairman and the IPOPHL as vice chairman and secretariat
Among the NCIPR members, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) accounted for the lion’s share, with P34.70 billion of last year’s hauls, or 85 percent, the report said.
Among the biggest operations of the BOC included its July raid in Binondo, which yielded P11 billion worth of fake luxury goods, and its November raid in a Divisoria mall, which brought in P7 billion, IPOPHL said.
The National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine National Police hauled in P3.42 billion and P2.83 billion, respectively for a combined total of P6.2 billion.
The Food and Drug Administration seized P30.20 million worth of counterfeit drugs and health-related products.
Section 155 of the IP Code prohibits the use, reproduction or imitation of a registered trademark or its dominant feature without the owner’s consent—whether in commerce or advertising. Violators can be held liable for infringement if such use is likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception.
The IP Code was created in January 1998 by virtue of RA 8293.
