IPOPHL seeks takedown orders vs six piracy sites
THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said that it has issued two requests to disable access to six domains and subdomains over alleged movie piracy, following a complaint from the Motion Pictures Association, Inc. (MPA).
In a statement, IPOPHL said that the two requests involve the blocking of sflix.to, sflix.se, sflix.is, myflixerz.to, myflixer.to, and myflixer.today.
“Both requests were posted on the IPOPHL website for five days starting Oct. 24 before being sent to internet service providers today for their appropriate action, giving website owners time and due process to respond,” the regulator said.
IPOPHL’s requests came following the complaints lodged by MPA, whose member studios include Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
“These websites have neither authority nor permission, from the rights holders, express or implied, to make available, publish, copy, print, reproduce, use, or make available for download or for streaming in any manner of any of the rightsholders’ copyrighted works,” MPA said.
According to IPOPHL, the copyrighted works that were the subject of the complaint include Shazam!, Raya and the Last Dragon, Girls Trip, Day Shift, Jumanji: The Next Level, and Top Gun: Maverick.
It added that the six sites were found to be hosting pirated versions of movies or TV shows, allowing users to access these illegal copies through downloads and streams.
“By hosting pirated content and allowing users to access illegal copies through downloading or streaming, respondents undermine the exclusive rights of complainants,” according to the request.
IPOPHL said that such actions violate Section 216 of Republic Act 18293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, as amended.
“IPOPHL is committed to safeguard the rights of artists and the opportunities that could shape the future of the Philippine creative economy,” IPOPHL Deputy Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile