The Supreme Court has affirmed the right of the Filipino Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers Incorporated (FILSCAP) to collect license fees and royalties from the copyrighted works of its member-artists.
This as the High Court granted FILSCAP petition seeking to reverse the rulings of the Baguio City Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals which denied the association’s right to collect license fees and or royalties over copyrighted works of its members.
In granting FILSCAP petition, the SC stressed that it is accredited by the Intellectual Property of the Philippines to perform the role of a Collective Management Organization and a member of the Paris-based International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers.
As such, the SC said FILSCAP owns the right to license public performances in the Philippines of copyrighted foreign musical works of its members and affiliate performing rights societies abroad.
FILSCAP, the SC added, is also deputized to enforce and protect the copyrighted works of its members or affiliates by issuing licenses and collecting royalties and or license fees from anyone who publicly exhibits or performs music belonging to the association’s worldwide repertoire.
With this, the SC said it is evident that respondent Anrey Incorporated committed copyright infringement when two branches of the Sizzling Plate Restaurant in Baguio City were monitored to have played copyrighted music owned by FILSCAP between July and September 2008.
Both restaurant branches were owned by Anrey.
Records of the case showed that FILSCAP informed the restaurant owners of the unauthorized public performance of copyrighted music and urged them to secure licenses from the association to avoid prosecution.
When its plea went unheeded, FILSCAP lodged a complaint before the Baguio City RTC for copyright infringement.
The RTC sided with Anrey’s arguments that it did not broke any copyrights laws as alleged in the complaint.
Anrey claimed that its establishments played whatever was being broadcast on the radio they were tuned in.
When its motion for reconsideration was denied by the RTC, FILSCAP elevated the case to the CA which affirmed the trial court’s ruling.
FILSCAP then went to the SC to reverse and set aside the RTC and CA rulings.
This time, the SC sided with FILSCAP with the ruling penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda saying it found merit in its petition for review.
“The Court upheld FILSCAP’s legal standing to sue for copyright infringement. FILSCAP, it noted, is accredited by the Intellectual Property of the Philippines to perform the role of a Collective Management Organization and a member of the Paris-based International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, the umbrella organization of all composer societies worldwide,” a summary of the ruling provided to the media by the SC Public Information Office said.
“The Court said it was evident that the first element of copyright infringement has been satisfied: that FILSCAP has the authority to collect royalties and and or license fees and sue for copyright infringement,” it added.
Further, as an assignee of copyright, FILSCAP is entitled to all the rights and remedies which the assignor had with respect to the copyright.
The SC also explained that while Anrey does not directly charge a fee for playing radio broadcasts over its speakers, such reception is clearly done to enhance profit by providing entertainment to the public, particularly its customers, who pay for the dining experience in Anrey’s restaurants.
“The Court held that the free use by commercial establishments of radio broadcasts is beyond the normal exploitation of the copyright holder’s creative work. Denying the petition would gravely affect the copyright holder’s market where instead of paying royalties, they use free radio reception,” the SC said, adding that failure to hold Anrey liable for copyright infringement will also impact similar establishments like malls, department stores, retail stores, lounges and the like, who might follow its lead, causing huge economic impact on the music industry in general.
The SC said it found that the right of FILSCAP to license the public performance of the copyrighted works, the public performance without a license from FILSCAP, and the refusal of Anrey to pay the license fees were duly established in the case.
With this, the SC ordered Anrey to pay FILSCAP P10,000 as temperate damages for the unlicensed public performance of the copyrighted songs and P50,000 as attorney’s fees, plus an interest rate of 12% per annum from September 8, 2009 until June 30, 2013, and thereafter, 6% per annum from July 1, 2013, until finality.
