It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the Philippines to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

The Philippines has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

The Philippines has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in the Philippines. It is reported that the rate of unlicensed software installation in the country was 66% in 2017 (above the 57% rate of the Asian Pacific countries), for an estimated commercial value of USD 388 million.

Philippines is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Philippines has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission (Republic Act No. 8293). Sections 184-190 list the exceptions which include: the recitation or performance of a work, once it has been lawfully made accessible to the public, if done privately and free of charge or if made strictly for a charitable or religious institution or society; the making of quotations from a published work if they are compatible with fair use and only to the extent justified for the purpose, including quotations from newspaper articles and periodicals in the form of press summaries; the reproduction or communication to the public by mass media of articles on current political, social, economic, scientific or religious topic, lectures, addresses and other works of the same nature; among others.

According to Section 33 of the Republic Act No. 8293, an applicant who is not a resident of the Philippines must appoint and maintain a resident agent or representative in the Philippines upon whom notice or process for judicial or administrative procedure relating to the application for patent or the patent may be served.

A screening of FDI exists in the telecommunications sector, primarily through the necessity of acquiring licenses and even a legislative franchise from Congress. For instance, telecommunications service providers need to secure a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the National Telecommunications Commission as well as a legislative franchise from Congress (see the "Other Information" sheet for an extended discussion of this measure).

Section 142 of the Corporations Act establishes that a foreign corporation applying for a license to transact business in the Philippines shall submit to the Commission the address, including the street number, of the principal office of the corporation in the country or State of incorporation; the name and address of its resident agent authorized to accept summons and process in all legal proceedings and all notices affecting the corporation, pending the establishment of a local office; and the place in the Philippines where the corporation intends to operate.

Section 4 of the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RA 11232) mandates a residency requirement for select corporate officers, namely: the treasurer and the secretary.

The Foreign Investment Act requires the publishing every two years of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. According to List A of the 2022 FINL, advertising is limited to 30% foreign equity.

The Foreign Investment Act requires the publishing every two years of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. According to List B of the 2022 FINL, up to 40% foreign equity are allowed in: micro and small domestic market enterprises with paid in equity capital of less than the equivalent of USD 200,000; and micro and small domestic market enterprises that involve advance technology or are endorsed as startup or startup enablers by state agencies; or those whose majority of direct employees are Filipinos, provided that their Filipino employees should not be less than 15, and with a paid-in equity capital of less than the equivalent of USD 100,000.

The Foreign Investment Act requires the publishing every two years of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. List A of the 2022 FINL bans foreign ownership/participation in mass media, except for recording and internet businesses. Internet business refers to internet access providers that merely serve as carriers for transmitting messages and not creators of messages/information.

The Foreign Investment Act requires the publishing every two years of the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL), which outlines sectors in which foreign investment is restricted. List A of the 2022 FINL bans foreign ownership/participation in retail trade enterprises with paid-up capital of less than PHP 25 million (approx. USD 440,000), among others.

Philippines is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2019.