Pay for jingles, bets told

CANDIDATES who plan to use hit songs by popular artists for their campaign jingles must play it fair and square: Obtain permission and pay the artist royalties first.

With the campaign season starting on Feb. 9, the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Filscap) is seeking to forge an agreement with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to remind candidates to respect copyrighted music.

Filscap president Noel Cabangon Monday met with Comelec Chair Andres Bautista to discuss the perennial problem of candidates turning original popular songs into campaign jingles without permission from the composers.

Cabangon told reporters the group was asking the Comelec to help inform candidates of their need to abide by the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, which carries a penalty of nine years in prison and a fine of P1.5 million for violations.

“Our aim is to inform candidates that they should comply with the law,” said Cabangon, noting that the law is often ignored or overlooked during the campaign season.

“The concern of Filscap is that their works protected by copyright are being used as campaign jingles without permission or without payment,” Bautista told reporters in an interview.

“So we might sign a memorandum of agreement with Filscap and IPO pertaining to this matter,” he said. Jocelyn R. Uy