If you are a bar reviewee, try answering this short practice question on Commercial Law:
“Author Y died on 3 February 2014. May Bozania Publishing Company publish Y’s books on 18 July 2064 without getting his heir’s authorization?”
The overwhelming majority of those who answered this question wrote that Bozania Publishing Company may do so. After all, Section 213 of the Intellectual Property Code provides that the term of copyright protection is for the duration of the author’s lifetime and “for fifty (50) years after his death.” And since the 50-year term expired on 3 February 2064, they thus concluded that Bozania Publishing Company may publish Y’s books on 18 July 2064 without obtaining his heir’s authorization.
The correct answer, though, is that Bozania Publishing Company may not publish Y’s books without getting his heir’s authorization. The reason is found in the succeeding Section 214 which provides as follows:
“SEC. 214. Calculation of Term. – – The term of protection subsequent to the death of the author provided in the preceding Section shall run from the date of his death or of publication, but such terms shall always be deemed to begin on the first day of January following the event which gave rise to them.”
Since Author Y died on 3 February 2014, the 50-year term began on 1 January 2015 and will thus end only on 1 January 2065. Hence, Bozania cannot publish Y’s books on 18 July 2064 without his heir’s authorization, since such publication date will fall within the 50-year term.
I suspect the reason for this oversight is that most bar reviewees just focused on Section 213 and no longer paid any attention to the succeeding section. Of course a bar review lecturer would point this important detail out, but many of those who self-review may overlook it.
To my mind, things would have been clearer if Section 213 had provided right off the bat that the term of protection is for the duration of the author’s lifetime and “for 50 years thereafter, beginning on January 1 of the year following the author’s death” or words to that effect. But that’s often the way laws are drafted. I suspect that the drafter wanted to lay an ambush for those not belonging to the secret society of IPL lawyers.
-oOo-
