Licensing and Distribution
Licensing
Unremunerated large-scale photocopying and digital copying of books, journals, and other works negatively impact the economic rights of rightsholders by affecting sales. A decrease in book sales results in reduced profits for publishers and subsequently lower royalties for authors, rendering the publishing business unsustainable and no longer attractive to pursue.
Consequently, unlicensed and uncontrolled copying of copyrighted materials leads to authors experiencing a decline in income and losing motivation to produce high-quality books. This has adverse consequences for all parties involved, particularly educational institutions that consistently require access to top-notch and updated learning materials.
The FILCOLS license offers consumers peace of mind by permitting the lawful use of copyrighted works. Without a proper license, reproduction activities become illegal, making consumers vulnerable to copyright infringement suits. Such legal proceedings are not only expensive but also unpleasant, potentially damaging the reputation of the institution involved.
To learn more about how your institution can avail itself of our services, please contact us via email at filcols@gmail.com.
List of licensees
With the implementation of the K-12 Program (Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 or RA 10533), the DepEd, NBDB, and private publishers were caught off-guard.
The administration of then-President Simeon Benigno C. Aquino III wanted to see the first graduates of the program within its term of office. This means the 13 years program (one year of Kinder and 12 years for Grades 1 to 12) must be implemented in six years despite a lack of textbooks and learning materials.
DepEd was pressed to come up with learning materials to meet the needs of the public school students and comply with the administration’s target. Meanwhile, the private sector publishers found it unworkable to tweak their usual two-year book development procedure.
In consultation with the NBDB, FILCOLS’s chair Dr. Isagani R. Cruz and DepEd secretary Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, signed a licensing agreement in 2013. This allowed DepEd to provide the much-needed learning materials by getting a license from FILCOLS and paying a token copyright license fee for the reuse of FILCOLS members’ written works.
DepEd would sign agreements with FILCOLS until the latter part of 2019 which was also the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While DepEd is the largest licensee of FILCOLS, the first to sign the license agreement in 2012 was The Manila Times College headed by Dr. Dante “Klink” Ang III.
Other licensees were: Ayala Museum and Filipinas Heritage Library, Synergeia Foundation, and the Provincial Government of Bulacan, among others.
Distribution
In December 2013, FILCOLS immediately distributed the remuneration it received in September. We conducted distribution again in 2016 and 2019 to our members for the reuse of their works. These events were conducted publicly and were covered by the local press.
To read more articles and see photos of our past distributions, please visit the FILCOLS blog.