NFTs and IP in the Philippines

August 10, 2022

NFTs have been in the news a lot lately, and there has been a lot of excitement around their potential. But what are NFTs, and what implications do they have for intellectual property in the Philippines?

Conventus Law spoke with SyCipLaw Partner and Intellectual Property Department Head Vida M. Panganiban-Alindogan to find out more about NFTs and IP in the Philippines.

Conventus Law: Non-Fungible-Tokens (NFTs) sales have increased from US$100m in 2020 to US$22b in 2021. What is the relationship between NFTs and IP?

SyCipLaw: There is a functional interaction between NFTs and intellectual property. Although NFT buyers do not acquire the IP rights associated with the item underlying the NFT, it is arguable that NFTs may still be subject to IP protection, including copyright, design patent, and trademark rights.

Under the Philippines' IP regime, does the ownership of an NFT carry with it the transfer of copyright ownership to the asset? If not, why is that?

Ownership of an NFT generally does not carry with it the transfer of copyright ownership to the underlying asset (i.e., digital work). NFTs represent data on a blockchain, which does not constitute an original work of authorship under the intellectual property laws of the Philippines.

Read the full special report on Conventus Law here.