COPYRIGHT LAW: Is it criminal to import books, movie and music DVDs and CDs?

Last Friday, I was jolted by unpleasant news.  A friend told me over dinner that there is a new law that prohibits the importation of foreign books, movie and music DVDs and CDs, and those bringing in these articles can be held criminally liable, even if such importation is done for personal use. I told my friend that this is not possible since the Intellectual Property Code clearly allows importation for personal use under its fair use provisions.  I am not a lawyer but due to its relevance to my work, the copyright section of the Intellectual Property Code was explained to me by my sister who is an intellectual property practitioner.

Thus, I was greatly bothered when my friend told me that he read in a blog that the fair use provisions of the IP Code pertaining to personal use has been removed in the new law. My first question was, can I no longer ask relatives to buy art books, CDs and DVDs for me from abroad?  In my line of work, I have found it very helpful to keep abreast of modern trends in art and the latest books from abroad are great resources.  But, if there is indeed this new law, then I should no longer ask my relatives and friends to bring me these materials from abroad. 

As soon as I got home, I asked my sister about this new law which criminalizes importation of books, CDs and DVDs for personal use.  She was surprised by my question and told me that my friend must have misunderstood what he read.    She explained that there are in fact proposed amendments to the Intellectual Property Code, including the provisions on copyright law.  With regard to importation for personal use, Section 190.1 was deleted.  But this does not mean that importation of books, music and movie DVDs and CDs can no longer be done.  On the contrary, with the deletion of Section 190.1, the limit of allowable copyrighted material that can be brought into the country has been removed.  This means that instead of three copies of a book, I can ask my Tita to bring five even ten, not only for me but for my friends.  Such importation is allowed under the general fair use exceptions (Chapter VIII, Section 185, IP Code).

I was greatly relieved when this was explained to me. I have decided to share this in my blog so that all those who might have misunderstood the fair use amendments to the IP Code will learn what I have.