Day With Music: Celebrating the National Intellectual Property Month

To formally commence the National Intellectual Property Month, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), supported by Philippines Recorded Music Right (PRM), held an event entitled, Day with Music: Celebrating the National Intellectual Property Month, last April 11. 2025 at the IPOPHL Multi-purpose Hall where IPOPHL partners, delegates, and employees got to attend a day full of music and wisdom.

The event started with Dr. Fernan R. Dizon, Chief Intellectual Property Rights Specialist, mentioning the importance of music and Intellectual Property. That the two work hand-in-hand for the nation’s progress. He highlighted “Feel the beat of Intellectual Property”, as it’s high time for everyone to acknowledge that music must be licensed and always protected. That all stakeholders, especially artists, should be credited for their efforts and talents, to help catapult them to have a stronger presence in the digital music scene.

Next part of the event was a video message from Atty. Ann Claire C. Cabochan, IPOPHL’s Deputy Director General. She reiterated that, “We often associate intellectual property with inventions, services, designs, etc., but IP brings together what the mind can imagine to what it can create. Music is a creation and should be subject to royalties as it’s used for commercialization and market access.”

After this, Suyen, a musician and performer under Filtered Music, serenaded everybody with feel-good songs, including her original song entitled, “Tampo”. Her performance only cemented why music and songs should be given priority in terms of intellectual property. As royalties help fund their passion and motivate them to create more music for everybody to enjoy.

According to the woman of the hour, the new presiding Director General (DG), Atty. Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz, “For the longest time, there have been no stringent laws, whether here or abroad, about protecting music. People weren’t aware of what piracy is. Things that were considered harmless, such as mixtapes, weren’t considered illegal before, and this only meant that music wasn’t given the right protection initially. But why should it be protected? Music, more importantly is a unique language, it bridges between gaps in countries and generations.”, she added.

She also sent her deepest gratitude to PRM for being supportive of their advocacy in making sure that every stakeholder in the music industry is given respect in accordance with their rights as owners of their sound recordings.

From L to R: Suyen of Filtered Music, Director General (DG), Atty. Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz, and Francis Buen, Head of Licensing of PRM.

The afternoon session was no less of a feat as it featured top-notch singers, songwriters, and musicians namely Top Suzara, Davey Langit, Jell Mateo, and PRM’s very own collaborator, Gab Cabangon.

All of them gave tips and breezed through their stories on how they all started in the industry.

Gab Cabangon mentioned, that to last in this industry, musicians must also understand the business side. “It is your privilege to have the right to own what you’ve created, apart from this, musicians also have to expose themselves to organizations such as PRM. Please consider knowing them, as there’s really a lot of room to learn!”.

From L to R: Thirdee Deacosta, Marketing Manager of PRM, Gab Cabangon, Singer-songwriter, PRM collaborator, and Executive Director of OPM, and Ashley Benitez, HR and Membership Officer of PRM

Jella Mateo, on the other hand, gave the audience samples on how and where a creation starts, that it goes through a tedious process, hence, like a finished product, must be properly compensated.

The day ended with a performance by Davey Langit.

All in all, this event, like in a song, was just the verse. The chorus and bridge are still in the pipeline, and we can’t all wait to hear the full song so we could share with everybody the beauty of properly highlighting the intellectual property rights of artists, performers, and everyone working in the music industry.

Watch out for more collaborative events and happenings between IPOPHL and PRM, including a Wish Bus appearance, Gawad Yaman awards night, and the World Intellectual Property Day.

For more updates on PRM’s activities, visit the following:

Website: www.prm.com.ph

Facebook and LinkedIn: Philippines Recorded Music Rights

Instagram: @prminc.official

For inquiries regarding music intellectual property, email info@prm.com.ph. 

Written by: Thirdee Deacosta