IPR Legal System in the Philippines: A Tour

WCO IPR/IPO/BOC National Workshop on Counterfeiting and Border Measures

EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Mandaluyong CityMarch 20, 2007

By N. F. Rodriguez, Jr., General Counsel, IP Coalition

Tour Itinerary

• Intellectual Property Code• Optical Media Law• Tariff and Customs Code• International Conventions• Jurisprudence

First Stop: IP Code

• Took effect on January 1, 1998• Creation of IPO• Defines IP Rights• Provides for legal remedies against

piracy and counterfeiting

State Policy• Sec. 2.

• The State recognizes that an effective intellectual and industrial property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative activity, facilitates transfer of technology, attracts foreign investments, and ensures market access for our products.

• It shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such periods as provided in this Act.

• The use of intellectual property bears a social function. To this end, the State shall promote the diffusion of knowledge and information for the promotion of national development and progress and the common good.

• It is also the policy of the State to streamline administrative procedures of registering patents, trademarks and copyright, to liberalize the registration on the transfer of technology, and to enhance the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the Philippines. (n)

IP Rights

• [a] Copyright and Related Rights; • [b] Trademarks and Service Marks; • [c] Geographic Indications; • [d] Industrial Designs; • [e] Patents; • [f] Layout-Designs (Topographies) of

Integrated Circuits; and • [g] Protection of Undisclosed Information

(n) [TRIPS].

Rights Conferred by Patent

A patent shall confer on its owner the following exclusive rights:

• (a) Where the subject matter of a patent is a product, to restrain, prohibit and prevent any unauthorized person or entity from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing that product;

• (b) Where the subject matter of a patent is a process, to restrain, prevent or prohibit any unauthorized person or entity from using the process, and from manufacturing, dealing in, using, selling or offering for sale, or importing any product obtained directly or indirectly from such process.

Civil Action for Patent Infringement

• Damages• Injunction• Order that the infringing goods, materials

and implements predominantly used in the infringement be disposed of outside the channels of commerce or destroyed, without compensation.

• (Please note Limitation of Action)

Criminal Action for Repetition of Infringement

• Imprisonment for the period of not less than six (6) months but not more than three (3) years and/or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000) but not more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000), at the discretion of the court.

• The criminal action herein provided shall prescribe in three (3) years from date of the commission of the crime

Rights Conferred by Trademark

• Exclusive right • to prevent all third parties not having the owner’s

consent • from using in the course of trade • identical or similar signs or containers for goods

or services which are identical or similar to those in respect of which the trademark is registered

• where such use would result in a likelihood of confusion. In case of the use, of an identical sign for identical goods or services, a likelihood of confusion shall be presumed.

Remedies; Infringement

• Sec. 155. Remedies; Infringement• Damages • Impounding during the pendency of the action, of sales

invoices and other documents evidencing sales• Injunction. • Disposal of infringing goods outside the channels of

commerce• Destruction of all labels, signs, prints, packages, wrappers,

receptacles and advertisements bearing the registered mark or trade name or any reproduction, counterfeit, copy or colorable imitation thereof, all plates, molds, matrices and other means of making the same.

• Cancellation of registration• Prohibition from importation

Remedies; Unfair Competition

• Sec. 168. • Damages • Impounding during the pendency of the action, of sales

invoices and other documents evidencing sales• Injunction. • Disposal of infringing goods outside the channels of

commerce• Destruction of all labels, signs, prints, packages, wrappers,

receptacles and advertisements bearing the registered mark or trade name or any reproduction, counterfeit, copy or colorable imitation thereof, all plates, molds, matrices and other means of making the same.

• Cancellation of Registration

False Designations of Origin; False Description or Representation• Sec. 169.• Damages• Injunction• Prohibition from importation

Penalties

Imprisonment from two (2) years to five (5) years and a fine ranging from Fifty Thousand pesos (P50,000) to Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000) for commission of any of the acts mentioned in Section 155, Section 168 and Subsection 169.1

Literary and Artistic Works• Original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain protected from the

moment of their creation and shall include in particular:• (a) Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;• (b) Periodicals and newspapers;• (c) Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral delivery, whether or

not reduced in writing or other material form;• (d) Letters;• (e) Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic works or

entertainment in dumb shows;• (f) Musical compositions, with or without words;• (g) Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, • lithography or other works of art; models or designs for works of art;• (h) Original ornamental designs or models for articles of manufacture, • whether or not registrable as an industrial design, and other works of applied art;• (i) Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and three-dimensional works • relative to geography, topography, architecture or science;• (j) Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character;• (k) Photographic works including works produced by a process analogous to

photography; lantern slides;• (l) Audiovisual works and cinematographic works and works produced by a process

analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual recordings;• (m) Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;• (n) Computer programs; and• (o) Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.

Copy or Economic RightsExclusive right to carry out, authorize or prevent the following

acts: • 177.1. Reproduction of the work or substantial portion of the

work;• 177.2 Dramatization, translation, adaptation, abridgment,

arrangement or other transformation of the work;• 177.3. The first public distribution of the original and each

copy of the work by sale or other forms of transfer of ownership;

• 177.4. Rental of the original or a copy of an audiovisual or cinematographic work, a work embodied in a sound recording, a computer program, a compilation of data and other materials or a musical work in graphic form, irrespective of the ownership of the original or the copy which is the subject of the rental; (n)

• 177.5. Public display of the original or a copy of the work;• 177.6. Public performance of the work; and• 177.7. Other communication to the public of the work (Sec.

5, P. D. No. 49a)

Remedies for Infringement• Injunction • Damages• Impounding during the pendency of the action, of

sales invoices and other documents evidencing sales, all articles and their packaging alleged to infringe a copyright

• Destruction without any compensation of all infringing copies or devices, as well as all plates, molds, or other means for making such infringing copies

• Other terms and conditions, including the payment of moral and exemplary damages

• Destruction of infringing copies of the work even in the event of acquittal in a criminal case.

• Order the seizure and impounding of any article which may serve as evidence in the court proceedings. (Sec. 28, P. D. No. 49a)

Criminal Penalties• Any person infringing any right secured by provisions of Part IV of

this Act or aiding or • abetting such infringement • shall be guilty of a crime punishable by:• (a) Imprisonment of one (1) year to three (3) years plus a fine

ranging from Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) to One hundred fifty thousand pesos (P150,000) for the first offense.(b) Imprisonment of three (3) years and one (1) day to six (6) years plus a fine ranging from One hundred fifty thousand pesos (P150,000) to Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) for the second offense.(c) Imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) day to nine (9) years plus a fine ranging from Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) to One million five hundred thousand pesos (P1,500,000) for the third and subsequent offenses.

• Any person who at the time when copyright subsists in a work has in his possession an article which he knows, or ought to know, to be an infringing copy of the work for the purpose of:(a) Selling, letting for hire, or by way of trade offering or exposing for sale, or hire, the article;(b) Distributing the article for purpose of trade, or for any other purpose to an extent that will prejudice the rights of the copyright owner in the work; or(c) Trade exhibit of the article in public, shall be guilty of an offense andshall be liable on conviction to imprisonment and fine as above mentioned. (Sec. 29, P. D. No. 49a)

Second Stop: Optical Media Law

• Took effect in 2004• To address optical disc piracy• Reorganization of the VRB to OMB

Why OMB Law was enacted

• Optical media technology, more popularly known for its products like CD, VCD and DVD, has empowered the consumer by allowing him access to movies, music, books, computer programs and entertainment games in ways unheard of in the past.

• Yet, in the hands of unscrupulous businessmen, this technology has been used to produce unauthorized copies of such products in numbers and at such speeds and frequencies enough to devour the very industries that feed them.

• As a result, the motion picture and music recording industries have been brought to near, if not actual, collapse. Book publishers, software developers and programmers and other copyright proprietors, are also being victimized.

Why OMB Law was enacted

•For years, government has been losing money to pirates.

Year Software Piracy

Music Piracy Video Piracy

1998 P200 million P33.5 million P265.000 million

1999 P250 million P72.0 million P298.000 million

2000 P350 million P190.000 million

P437.000 million

Policy

• It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State to ensure the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights.

•  The unregulated mastering, manufacture, replication, importation and exportation of optical media in all forms is inimical to economic growth and public interest.

• Towards this end, the State shall institute the means to regulate the manufacture, mastering, replication, importation and exportation of optical media.

Forms of Regulation

• By LICENSING certain specific acts or activities;

• By PRESCRIBING the use and application of Source Identification Codes (SID);

• By PENALIZING specific acts

SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES THAT REQUIRE LICENSING

• SEC. 13. Licensing and Registration - Any person, establishment or entity shall, prior to engaging in one or more of the businesses or activities enumerated hereunder, register with, and secure the appropriate licenses from the OMB:

• (a) Importation, exportation, acquisition, sale or distribution of optical media, manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media;

• (b) Possession or operation of manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories, or the possession, acquisition, sale or use of manufacturing materials for the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media; and

• (c) The mastering, manufacture, replication, importation or exportation of optical media.

Source Identification Code

• determine, develop and adopt a system of source identification (SID) codes

• of international recognition and acceptance• all persons, establishments or entities

registered with and licensed by the OMB to engage in the mastering, manufacture of or replication in optical media,

• applied to each and every optical media mastered or manufactured

• visible, legible and conforms with such specifications as prescribed by the OMB.

Source Identification Code

Specific Punishable Acts and Penalties

Imprisonment of at least three (3) years but not more than six (6) years, and a

fine of not less than Php500,000.00, but not exceeding Php1,500,000.00, at the discretion of the Court

(1) Engage in the importation, exportation, acquisition, sale or distribution of, or possess or operate manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories without the necessary licenses from the OMB;

 (2) Engage in the mastering, manufacture,

replication, importation or exportation of optical media without the necessary licenses from the OMB;

 (3) By himself, or through another, cause the

mastering, manufacture or replication of any intellectual property in optical media intended for commercial profit or pecuniary gain without authority or consent of the owner thereof;

 

(4) Engage in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media without affixing or installing in the resulting products the SID Code, and/or such other codes prescribed, assigned and authorized by the OMB. The absence of the codes prescribed, assigned and authorized by the OMB in any optical media shall be prima facie evidence that said optical media are in violation of this Act;

 (5) Engage in the mastering, manufacture or

replication of optical media using, affixing or installing in the resulting products false SID or other codes. The presence of false or unauthorized codes shall be prima facie evidence that said optical media are in violation of this Act;

 

(6) Engage in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media using, affixing or installing in the products the SID Codes, and/or other codes that have been assigned by the OMB to another person, or, having been assigned and authorized said codes by the OMB, allow or authorize another person, establishment or entity to use, affix or install such codes in the latter’s products;

Imprisonment of at least one (1) year but not more than three (3) years, and

a fine of not less than Php100,000.00, but not exceeding Php500,000.00, at the discretion of the Court

   (1) Engaging in the importation, exportation, sale, or

distribution of, or possess or acquire in commercial quantities manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media without the necessary licenses from the OMB;

  

 

  (2) Knowingly performing or rendering the service of mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media, after having been licensed by the OMB, to any person, in respect of any intellectual property, who does not have the consent by the owner of the intellectual property or his representatives or assigns;

   For this purpose, any person, establishment or entity

that is licensed by the OMB to engage in the abovementioned activities shall be considered to have acted in good faith in respect of any transaction entered into by him in respect to the preceding paragraph, if he notifies the OMB of such transaction within five (5) working days from receipt of the order, furnishing to the OMB all material information thereof;

  

  (3) Refusing to submit to inspection by the OMB, or surrender for preventive custody any optical media, equipment, manufacturing materials including, parts, accessories and paraphernalia found during inspection operations to be in violation of the provisions of this Act;

   For purposes of this subsection, violators who employ

armed resistance against authorized agents of the OMB shall be penalized under other applicable laws in addition to those provided in this Act; and

Imprisonment of at least thirty (30) days but not more than ninety (90) days, or

a fine of not less than PhP 25,000.00) but not exceeding PhP 50,000.00, at the discretion of the Court.

(1) Knowingly possessing items of the same content or title, produced in violation of this Act, and used for the purpose of sale, rental, distribution or any other commercial purpose with the intent to profit;

(2) Engaging in the sale, rental, distribution, importation, exportation of, or any other commercial activity involving optical media that are in violation of this Act.

  

 (d) For subsequent offenses in Section 19(a), uniform imprisonment of six (6) years but not more than nine (9) years and a fine of not less than One million five hundred thousand pesos (Php1,500,000.00) but not exceeding Three million pesos (Php3,000,000.00), at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed.

   (e) For subsequent offenses in Section 19(b), uniform

imprisonment of three (3) years but not more than six (6) years and a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (Php500,000.00) but not exceeding One million five hundred thousand pesos (Php1,500,000.00), at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed.

 

The offenses listed under this section shall be punished without prejudice to the application of appropriate penalties or sanctions provided under Section 216 and such other appropriate sections of the IP Code or Republic Act No. 8792 also known as the Electronic Commerce Act, the Revised Penal Code or other applicable laws.

Next Stop: Tariff and Customs Code

• Visitorial Powers • “Contraband”- importation in

violation of law• Provisions of IP Code and other laws.

Goods in the Marketplace

PATENT71.1. A patent shall confer on its owner

the following exclusive rights:(a) Where the subject matter of a patent

is a product, to restrain, prohibit and prevent any unauthorized person or entity from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing that product;

Goods in the Marketplace

TRADEMARKSec. 166. Goods Bearing Infringing Marks or Trade

Names. - No article of imported merchandise which shall copy or simulate the name of any domestic product, or manufacturer, or dealer, or which shall copy or simulate a mark registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or shall bear a mark or trade name calculated to induce the public to believe that the article is manufactured in the Philippines, or that it is manufactured in any foreign country or locality other than the country or locality where it is in fact manufactured, shall be admitted to entry at any customhouse of the Philippines.

Goods in the Marketplace

• In order to aid the officers of the customs service in

enforcing this prohibition, any person who is entitled to the benefits of this Act, may require that his name and residence, and the name of the locality in which his goods are manufactured, a copy of the certificate of registration of his mark or trade name, to be recorded in books which shall be kept for this purpose in the Bureau of Customs, under such regulations as the Collector of Customs with the approval of the Secretary of Finance shall prescribe, and may furnish to the said Bureau facsimiles of his name, the name of the locality in which his goods are manufactured, or his registered mark or trade name, and thereupon the Collector of Customs shall cause one (1) or more copies of the same to be transmitted to each collector or to other proper officer of the Bureau of Customs. (Sec. 35, R. A. No. 166)

Goods in the Marketplace

Sec. 169. False Designations of Origin; False Description or Representation. - 169.1. Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which:xxx169.2. Any goods marked or labeled in contravention of the provisions of this Section shall not be imported into the Philippines or admitted entry at any customhouse of the Philippines. The owner, importer, or consignee of goods refused entry at any customhouse under this section may have any recourse under the customs revenue laws or may have the remedy given by this Act in cases involving goods refused entry or seized. (Sec. 30, R. A. No. 166a)

Goods in the Marketplace

COPYRIGHT190.3. Subject to the approval of the Secretary of Finance, the Commissioner of Customs is hereby empowered to make rules and regulations for preventing the importation of articles the importation of which is prohibited under this Section and under treaties and conventions to which the Philippines may be a party and for seizing and condemning and disposing of the same in case they are discovered after they have been imported. (Sec. 30, P. D. No. 49)

Goods in the Marketplace

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8203AN ACT PROHIBITING COUNTERFEIT DRUGS,

PROVIDINGPENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS AND APPROPRIATINGFUNDS THEREFOR

SECTION 4 Prohibited Acts. – The following acts are declared unlawful and therefore prohibited;a) The manufacture, sale, or offering for sale, donation, distribution, trafficking, brokering, exportation, or importation or possession of counterfeit drugs as defined in Section 3 hereof not otherwise covered by Republic Act No. 3720, as amended.

Goods in the Marketplace• OPTICAL MEDIA LAW

SEC. 13. Licensing and Registration - Any person, establishment or entity shall, prior to engaging in one or more of the businesses or activities enumerated hereunder, register with, and secure the appropriate licenses from the OMB:

  (a) Importation, exportation, xxx of optical media, manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media; (b) xxx ; and

  (c) The mastering, manufacture, replication, importation or exportation of optical media.

xxx the licenses issued by the OMB are conditions precedent for securing the necessary business permits, licenses or registration from the appropriate authorities, and shall also be a necessary requirement for the release of manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories, and materials intended for use in mastering and/or manufacturing optical media, from customs or economic zones exercising independent customs laws. 

Customs Administrative Order No. 6-2002

• To give meaning and substance to laws prohibiting the importation of goods or products that infringe upon all intellectual property rights as defined in the law.

• To enhance existing procedures (CAO 7-93), in conformity with international standards specifically set in the TRIPS Agreement on special border control, to prevent the entry into the country of certain prohibited merchandises.

• To set up administrative guidelines to expedite the handling and disposition of goods the importation of which is prohibited under the IP Code and other related laws.

• To stress the seriousness of the government, more particularly the Bureau of Customs ("Bureau"), in its drive to combat piracy and counterfeiting in violation of the IP Code and other related laws

Side Trip: International Conventions

Contracting Party Treaty Status Entry into Force

Philippines Berne Convention In Force August 1, 1951

Philippines Budapest Treaty In Force October 21, 1981

Philippines Paris Convention In Force September 27, 1965

Philippines PCT In Force August 17, 2001

Philippines Rome Convention In Force September 25, 1984

Philippines WCT In Force October 4, 2002

Philippines WIPO Convention In Force July 14, 1980

Philippines WPPT In Force October 4, 2002

Final Stop: Jurisprudence

• 20th Century Fox v CA• Columbia Pictures v CA• Sony Music v Solid Laguna

20th Century Fox v CA

• PROBABLE CAUSE; DEFINED. — In the case of Burgos, Sr. v. Chief of Staff , AFP (133 SCRA 800), we defined probable cause for a valid search "as such facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonably discreet and prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the objects sought in connection with the offense are in the place sought to be searched.“

• PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF COMPLAINANT OR WITNESSES, REQUIRED. — This constitutional provision also demands "no less than personal knowledge by the complainant or his witnesses of the facts upon which the issuance of a search warrant may be justified" in order to convince the judge, not the individual making the affidavit and seeking the issuance of the warrant, of the existence of a probable cause. (Alvarez v. Court of First Instance, 64 Phil. 33; Burgos, Sr. v. Chief of Staff, AFP, supra).

20th Century Fox v CA

• IN COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT, PRESENTATION OF MASTER TAPES ALLEGEDLY COPIED IS NECESSARY. — The essence of a copyright infringement is the similarity or at least substantial similarity of the purported pirated works to the copyrighted work. Hence, the applicant must present to the court the copyrighted films to compare them with the purchased evidence of the video tapes allegedly pirated to determine whether the latter is an unauthorized reproduction of the former. This linkage of the copyrighted films to the pirated films must be established to satisfy the requirements of probable cause. Mere allegations as to the existence of the copyrighted films cannot serve as basis for the issuance of a search warrant.

Columbia Pictures v CA

• RULING IN CENTURY FOX CASE (164 SCRA 655), WITH NO RETROACTIVE APPLICATION. — Mindful as we are of the ramifications of the doctrine of stare decisis and the rudiments of fair play, it is our considered view that the 20th Century Fox ruling (164 SCRA 655) calling for the production of the master tape of the copyrighted films for determination of probable cause cannot be retroactively applied to the instant case to justify the quashal of Search Warrant No. 87-053.

.

Columbia Pictures v CA

• RULING IN CENTURY FOX CASE (164 SCRA 655) SERVES AS A GUIDEPOST IN DETERMINING EXISTENCE OF PROBABLE CAUSE IN COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT CASES ONLY WHERE THERE IS DOUBT AS TO THE TRUE NEXUS BETWEEN THE MASTER TAPE AND THE PIRATED COPIES. — The supposed pronunciamento in said case regarding the necessity for the presentation of the master tapes of the copyrighted films for the validity of search warrants should at most be understood to merely serve as a guidepost in determining the existence of probable cause in copyright infringement cases where there is doubt as to the true nexus between the master tape and the pirated copies.

• An objective and careful reading of the decision in said case could lead to no other conclusion than that said directive was hardly intended to be a sweeping and inflexible requirement in all or similar copyright infringement cases. Judicial dicta should always be construed within the factual matrix of their parturition, otherwise a careless interpretation thereof could unfairly fault the writer with the vice of overstatement and the reader with the fallacy of undue generalization

.

Columbia Pictures v CA

• RULING IN 20th CENTURY FOX CASE (164 SCRA 655) DOES NOT RULE OUT USE OF TESTIMONIAL OR DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. — It is evidently incorrect to suggest, as the ruling in 20th Century Fox may appear to do, that in copyright infringement cases, the presentation of master tapes of the copyrighted films is always necessary to meet the requirement of probable cause and that, in the absence thereof, there can be no finding of probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant. It is true that such master tapes are object evidence, with the merit that in this class of evidence the ascertainment of the controverted fact is made through demonstrations involving the direct use of the senses of the presiding magistrate. Such auxiliary procedure, however, does not rule out the use of testimonial or documentary evidence, depositions, admissions or other classes of evidence tending to prove the factum probandum, especially where the production in court of object evidence would result in delay, inconvenience or expenses out of proportion to its evidentiary value.

Columbia Pictures v CA

• MANDATORY REQUIREMENT OF EXISTENCE OF PROBABLE CAUSE. — The constitutional (Sections 2 and 3, Article III) and statutory (Sections 3,4,5 of Rule 126 of the Rule of Court) provisions of various jurisdictions requiring a showing of probable cause before a search warrant can be issued are mandatory and must be complied with, and such a showing has been held to be an unqualified condition precedent to the issuance of a warrant. A search warrant not based on probable cause is a nullity, or is void, and the issuance thereof is, in legal contemplation, arbitrary.

Columbia Pictures v CA

• PROBABLE CAUSE, CONSTRUED. — Probable cause does not mean actual and positive cause, nor does it import absolute certainty. The determination of the existence of probable cause is not concerned with the question of whether the offense charged has been or is being committed in fact, or whether the accused is guilty or innocent, but only whether the affiant has reasonable grounds for his belief. The requirement is less than certainty or proof , but more than suspicion or possibility. In Philippine jurisprudence, probable cause has been uniformly defined as such facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonable, discreet and prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed, and that the objects sought in connection with the offense are in the place sought to be searched.

Sony Music v Solid Laguna• A core requisite before a warrant shall validly issue is the

existence of a probable cause, meaning “the existence of such facts and circumstances which would lead a reasonably discreet  and prudent man to believe that an offense has been committed and that the objects sought in connection with the offense are in the place to be searched”. And when the law speaks of facts, the reference is to facts, data or information personally known to the applicant and the witnesses he may present. Absent the element of personal knowledge by the applicant or his witnesses of the facts upon which the issuance of a search warrant may be justified, the warrant is deemed not based on probable cause and is a nullity, its issuance being, in legal contemplation, arbitrary, as held by us in Columbia Pictures, Inc. vs. Court of Appeals.  Testimony based on what is supposedly told to a witness, being patent hearsay and, as rule, of no evidentiary weight or probative value, whether objected to or not, would, alone, not suffice under the law on the existence of probable cause.

• In our view, the issuance of the search warrant in question did not meet the requirements of probable cause. The respondent judge did not accordingly err in quashing the same, let alone gravely abuse her discretion.

Sony Music v Solid Laguna

• A grim reminder against sloppy investigation