DTI-BPS conducts webinar on copyright with ISO

The Department of Trade and Industry‘s Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) under the Consumer Protection Group (CPG) conducted a webinar on Copyright of Philippine National Standards (PNS) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards on April 14, 2021 via Zoom Teleconferencing.

The event was part of the celebration of the Intellectual Property Month and the World Intellectual Property Day on April 26.

The two-hour webinar session was attended by 421 participants from various private and public sectors and was highlighted by the presentation of the ISO Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Nicolas Fleury.

CPG Undersecretary, Atty. Ruth B. Castelo opened the webinar explaining the objective of the activity to inform the stakeholders particularly the standards users of the BPS’ and ISO’s copyright policies and how the users can assist the Bureau in protecting these copyrighted materials to safeguard the continued effectiveness of the standardization system.

ISO Deputy Secretary-General, Mr. Nicolas Fleury started his presentation with a brief background on the ISO and the ISO system before discussing the overview of ISO’s policy for the distribution, sales and reproduction of ISO publications and their national adoptions and the protection of ISO’s copyright known as the ISO POCOSA.

The ISO POCOSA serves as the “Distribution Agreement” between the ISO and its members including BPS. It provides for the rights and obligations of ISO members in the distribution of ISO standards, the national adoptions of ISO standards, their drafts and other works within their national territories.

Mr. Fleury also discussed the importance of copyright for ISO in financing standardization activities, controlling the authenticity of their publications, and in updating standards. He underscored that the copyright of national adoptions of ISO standards always remains with ISO.

Ms. Ma. Jessica G. Sinag, Information Section Head of the BPS Standards Mainstreaming Division (BPS-SMD) discussed the BPS’ Copyright Policy for PNS as well as its implementation and protection measures. Ms. Sinag also shared how PNS and ISO Standards can be purchased through the DTI-BPS Standards and Conformance Portal (www.bps.dti.gov.ph) and the BPS’ future plans in making PNS transactions including standards distribution fully digital.

BPS Standards Development Division (BPS-SDD) Chief, Engr. Mario U. Gaudiano and BPS-SMD Chief, Engr. Ma. Teresita G. Del Rosario joined the resource speakers as panelists for the Q&A session after the presentation proper.

Some of the questions clarified were whether copies of ISO standards can be given for free to ISO experts involved in standards development, whether manufacturers with more than one plant site can use a single copy of standard for all the plants and whether governmental subcommittees may refer to PNS on their outputs.

For the first question, Mr. Fleury from ISO answered, “Experts can have complimentary copies of ISO standards for personal use but they need to contact their Technical Committee (TC) convenor or the ISO secretariat to request for copies.”

The second question was responded to by Engr. Gaudiano stating, “Manufacturers are required to secure a copy of the standard for each plant site. In the case of PS License holders, this requirement is being checked during factory audits.” The third question was resolved by Engr. Del Rosario explaining, “End-users of PNS may quote specific provisions but they need to ensure that the full title of the standard is mentioned and copyright rules are observed.”

“The DTI- BPS extends its heartfelt thanks to the ISO, the resource speakers, the panelists, and the participants for taking time to participate in the activity. We hope that this session has been very fruitful for all of us and we hope for your continued support to the Bureau’s activities such as this.”, states DTI-BPS Assistant Director Ferdinand L. Manfoste in his closing remarks.

The DTI-BPS, as the country’s National Standards Body, is the official member and representative of the Philippines to the ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For updates and more information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures (STRACAP), please visit the DTI-BPS Standards and Conformance Portal, www.bps.dti.gov.ph and follow our Facebook page. For inquiries, please email the DTI-BPS through its official email address: bps@dti.gov.ph.