The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued on 25 February 2026 the Revised Rules and Regulations on Copyright Registration and Copyright Related Services, or IPOPHL Memorandum Circular No. 2026-007 (“Copyright Services Rules”).

The Copyright Services Rules introduce provisions that address the use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in relation to copyright registration and related services. While the Rules do not establish a comprehensive framework for AI, several amendments are relevant to authorship and ownership declarations.

Under Section 3, the Rules clarify and introduce the following terms:

• Author or Creator refers to the natural person who created the work, or any portion thereof.
• Authorship Claim refers to an assertion that the applicant is the creator of the work, in whole or in part.
• Authorship Disclaimer refers to an assertion that the applicant is not the creator of the work or specified portions thereof.
• Copyright Claim refers to an assertion of ownership of copyright over a work.
• Derivative Work refers to a work based on one or more pre-existing works, which may be protected without prejudice to the subsisting copyright in the original work.
• Ontological Public Domain refers to subject matter excluded from copyright protection regardless of form of expression.

These definitions set out the parameters for declaring authorship and ownership in applications for copyright registration, including the identification of portions that may not be subject to protection.

The Rules also introduce additional grounds for refusal of copyright registration, including where the work “lacks human authorship” or where the work falls within the “ontological public domain.”

The updated Copyright Registry Enrollment Form (BCRR Form 2025-1) also requires applicants to disclose whether generative AI was used in the creation of the work, including the specific program utilized. This requirement promotes transparency and allows the IPOPHL to assess the extent of human contribution.

Further, the IPOPHL may cancel a certificate of registration on its own initiative upon discovery of fraud, or material and malicious misrepresentation in the application, particularly in relation to authorship, ownership, or creation.

Read together, these updates outline how AI-generated or AI-assisted works are addressed under the current framework, particularly in relation to authorship and ownership declarations.

Apart from the foregoing AI-related provisions, another notable amendment is the inclusion of copyright mortgages as registrable transactions. This allows parties to record arrangements where copyright is used as security for an obligation, subject to registration with the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights.

These developments reflect the IPOPHL’s continued efforts to update its framework in response to evolving technologies and practices in copyright.

For further information or assistance on these developments and other intellectual property concerns, you may contact our Intellectual Property team at veralaw@veralaw.com.ph.