SEVERAL companies and industry groups that are members of the E-Commerce Memorandum of Understanding —facilitated by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines —are pushing to amend the terms of the MOU to factor in the broader objectives of the Internet Transactions Act for a fairer and safer online space.
The E-Commerce MOU aims to develop “efficient takedown mechanisms” by strengthening coordination between brandowners and e-commerce platform-members Lazada, Shopee, TikTok Shop and Zalora. “One approach is by putting in place measures that strictly observe existing policy prohibiting prescription drugs from being made available for purchase online,” IPOPHL said in a statement on Friday.
According to IPOPHL, some members at the meeting also hope to finetune the E-Commerce MOU to “standardize” their methods and metrics in searching counterfeit items. IPOPHL said the agency will help the group explore how to best operationalize the E-Commerce MOU, taking into account the comments to be formally submitted by the members once the ITA’s IRR takes effect.