RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9239, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE ” OPTICAL MEDIA ACT OF 2003″
Whereas, it is the declared policy of the State to ensure the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights.
Whereas, the unregulated mastering, manufacturing, replication, importation, and exportation of optical media in all forms are inimical to economic growth and public interest.
Whereas, there is a need for the State to institute the means to regulate the manufacture, mastering, replication, importation and exportation of optical media.
NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to Section 34 of Republic Act No. 9239, the following rules and regulations are hereby promulgated:
Title I – General Provisions
Rule 1-Title
Section 1. Title. – These Rules shall be referred to as the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Optical Media Act of 2003.
Rule 2 – Definition of Terms
Section 1. Definitions. – As used in these Rules, the following terms shall mean:
(a) Act – Republic Act 9239 or the Optical Media Act of 2003;
(b) Acquisition – the act of acquiring or procuring manufacturing equipment; parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media;
(c) Duplication – the act or business of reproducing analog or digital content in any recordable media through the use of optical or magnetic process, or any technical variation thereof, now known or to be known in the future. The term shall include “burning;”
(d) Economic Zone – the Special Economic Zones, Industrial Estates, Export Processing Zones and Free Trade Zones as defined in Republic Act No. 7916 or the PEZA Law including the Clark Special Economic Zone, the Cagayan Special Economic Zone, the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone, the Subic Bay Freeport and other economic zones now in existence in the Philippines or as may be established in the future;
(e) Exportation – the act or business of bringing out of the country optical media, manufacturing equipment; parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture, or replication of optical media;
(f) Importation – the act or business of bringing into the country optical media, manufacturing equipment; parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture, or replication of optical media;
(g) IP Code – Republic Act No. 8293, also known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
(h) License – the authority granted by the Optical Media Board (OMB) to persons, establishments or entities registered with the OMB to engage in the businesses or activities enumerated in Section 1, Rule 1, Title II of these Rules;
(i) Magnetic Media – a storage medium or device characterized by a base, usually plastic, coated with ferric oxide powder, in which visual and/or aural information, or software code, may be recorded or stored, including, but not limited to, magnetic tape, cassettes, video tape, diskettes and floppy discs or any technical variation thereof as may be determined by the Board;
(j) Manufacture – the act or business of producing optical media or devices containing sounds and/or images, or software code, including any work protected in Part IV of the IP Code, by mastering and/or replication. In relation to equipment, “manufacture” shall refer to the assembly or integration of various components into any equipment useful for the mastering, manufacture and/or replication of optical media;
(k) Manufacturing Equipment – any and all equipment, machine or device, now known or to be known in the future, intended or designed for the production or manufacture, mastering and/or replication of optical media, optical media masters, or production parts thereof, including but not limited to those listed in Schedule “A” of these Rules, or such others, as may be determined by the Board. For purposes of these Rules, optical disc writers and other blank media burners or any technical variation thereof, found or installed in personal computers, but not used for commercial purposes, shall not be considered manufacturing equipment.
(l) Manufacturing Material – any material such as, but not limited to, those listed in Schedule “B suitable for the manufacture of optical media;
(m) Mastering – the act or business of producing a stamper made of glass, metal or other material, intended for the manufacture of optical media;
(n) Optical Media – a storage medium or device in which information, including sounds and or images or software code, has been stored, either by mastering and/or replication or duplication, which may be accessed and read using a lens scanning mechanism employing a high intensity light source such as laser or any such other means as may be developed in the future. The term shall include, but not be limited to those listed in Schedule “C:,
(o) OMB – the Optical Media Board;
(p) Replication – the process of manufacturing optical media by reproducing or generating copies of the stamper in an injection molding machine or other forms of replicating equipment.
(q) Source Identification Code or SID Code – a system of codes to identify the source of all optical media mastered, manufactured, or replicated by any establishment or entity.
Rule 3- Coverage
Section1. Coverage. – The authority of the OMB shall cover the entire territory of the Republic of the Philippines including the economic zones as defined in these Rules and in R.A. 7916.
