The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Internet Transactions Act (ITA) was signed recently, potentially creating numerous opportunities for Filipinos who depend on the internet for their businesses and services.

The law is a gamechanger in setting the essential guidelines for interagency collaboration and clearly defining the responsibilities of digital platforms, e-marketplaces, e-retailers, online merchants and consumers.

Under the law, the E-Commerce Bureau will lead efforts to address issues such as digital payments, data privacy, intellectual property (IP) and taxes. The signing of the ITA IRR marks a significant step towards enhancing e-commerce in the Philippines, making it fast, easy and secure. This initiative supports the e-Commerce Philippines 2028 Roadmap, which aims to develop digital farm-to-market routes, promote tourism, and protect innovative and creative industries.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), for one, has been part of the extensive deliberations and consultations that shaped the law and its IRR.

One of the biggest benefits that IP right holders can enjoy is the law’s provision of a secondary liability of e-commerce platforms. The provision recognizes that online marketplaces have a role to play in blocking consumer’s access to products and services that potentially violate or do not comply with existing laws. The adoption of a secondary liability principle would create a shift from the current approach where platforms and service providers enjoy safe harbor from infringing acts of its sellers or users.

Last week, just days after the signing of the ITA’s IRR, IPOPHL held its 4th Annual Review and Assessment of the E-Commerce memorandum of understanding (MoU), which IPOPHL oversees and which is now composed of 37 members that are e-commerce platforms, brand owners and industry associations.

At the meeting, brand-owner members raised concerns over the increasingly creative methods of counterfeiters to dodge detection from the platforms’ regular search operations. One way they do this is using more generic keywords or misspelling brand names. Such circumvention methods are a true challenge to any platform and brand owner. But last week’s E-Commerce review enabled both sides to have a clearer understanding on pain points in detection and explore solutions to address these bottlenecks.

Many, particularly pharmaceutical companies and industry groups, have also urged to revisit the MoU and possibly expand its reach to weed out counterfeits more effectively and strategically in online markets. This is something the IPOPHL will soon be studying once we’ve received all comments and suggestions for the MoU’s amendments.

Brand-owner members raised concerns over the increasingly creative methods of counterfeiters to dodge detection from the platforms’ regular search operations.

Our desire to revisit the terms of the MoU derives from our desire to do more. The MoU has created a channel for platforms and brand owners to communicate and collaborate. Brands have come to understand the inner workings of platforms and identify points they can leverage to their advantage.

Platforms, on their end, have elevated their game by developing a more efficient way to take down counterfeit items, cognizant of the impact of their action or non-action on the lives of people and on the reputation of brands.

Certain members with regional operations have also expressed a desire to elevate the E-Commerce MoU for the adoption of other ASEAN members. To recall, the E-Commerce MoU has been cited by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade as a best practice in cultivating trust online to deter illicit alcohol trade in the ASEAN region.

When IPOPHL was at the helm of the ASEAN Network of IP Enforcement Experts (ANIEE), we pushed for each country to adopt their own E-Commerce MoU. Many ASEAN members welcomed this goal and continue to work toward its fruition.

The cooperation and collaboration all members have shown since the signing of the E-Commerce MoU in 2021 is just truly remarkable. The overall positive perception of the MoU shows how it could complement the ITA in realizing its vision of a safe online space that thrives on trust and fairness.