15 People for Spreading Pirated Copies of MMFF 2020 Films Charged by DOJ
The 15 people behind the spread of pirated copies of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) 2020 film entries online were identified and charged.
According to the report of Bandera, the Optical Media Board (OMB) has formally charged the suspects with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violating Republic Act 9239 or Optical Media Act and Republic Act 8293 or Intellectual Property Code.
It is also based on the complaint of the producers of the pirated films during the 2020 MMFF through the Upstream streaming site which is the only one licensed to release 10 MMFF entries.
“Doon sa post nila, nakasulat ‘yung names ng movies, even ‘yung amount kung magkano and may instructions pa sila on how to download the same, and kung paano magbayad, kasi may modes of payments sila through online eh,” said Atty. Cyrus Valenzuela, Chief Legal Counsel of OMB.
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He added that this is a test case, and they are hoping that suspects will be indicted for the crime. Based on the OMB report, they have tracked 40 streaming sites offering pirated movies online.
It is known that pirates sell films at the annual Filmfest for P10 to P20 from the original price of P250. Three suspects were arrested by OMB operatives and it is reported that they have also been an inquest. If convicted, they will be jailed for up to 12 years and fined up to P100,000.
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