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MANILA - The value of counterfeit products the government seized in the first five months of the year fell by a fifth from a year ago because of the "massive loss of morale" of enforcers following the Manila's retention in Washington's intellectual property rights watch list, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said on Wednesday.
In a briefing, Ricardo Blancaflor, IPOPHL director general, told reporters that the value of seized items fell by 20 percent to P2.1 billion in the January to May period.
The National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights seized P8.3 billion, worth of knock-offs last year, up 58 percent from P5.29 billion in 2010. IPOPHL is a member of the NCIPR.
"Our retention in 301 File sends the wrong message because we thought we did a great job," Blancaflor said, adding that the Philippines' retention in the watch list caused a "massive loss of morale."
"Our retention is not fair. Our 2011 seizure is even bigger than that in US," he said.
"We will continue working hard, we will continue to fight. The loss of morale is temporary," he added.
A Special 301 Report released by the Office of the US Trade Representative in May showed the Philippines staying on the watch list despite the significant drop in the incidence of unauthorized cam-cording of motion pictures in theaters and the two procedural rules promulgated by the Supreme Court in 2011 to help facilitate IPR cases in the country.
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