Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III has approved the law on intellectual property that balances the right of the creators and that of the consumers, a senior government official said Friday.

Intellectual Property Office Director-General Ricardo Blancaflor told a news briefing at Malacanang, the presidential palace, that the new law protects the copyright.

Aquino signs Republic Act 10372 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines on February 28.

Under the new law, Blancaflor said the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights will be created.

He said that tougher penalties are also provided in the new law.

While Blancaflor could not give an estimate as to how much is lost to piracy in the Philippines, he said that for the last three years, the government had seized over 19 billion pesos (466.83 million U.S. dollars) worth of pirated materials from the notorious malls in the country.

(Source: Xinhua)