MANILA – The Makati Regional Trial Court has resolved an 11-year copyright battle between 2 education publishers after finding that substantial portions of a social science textbook produced by one of the parties were copied from another learning material.

In a Nov. 17, 2020 decision, Judge Ethel Mercado-Gutay found EdCrisch International Inc. (EdCrisch) and its Singapore-based partner Alkem Company liable of copyright infringement after discovering that a significant portion of one of its textbooks, “Pilipinas: Isang Sulyap at Pagyakap,” was copied from “Panahon Kasaysayan at Lipunan: Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas,” published by the University Press of First Asia (UPFA).

The court ordered EdCrisch and Alkem to stop the publication, distribution and sale of “Pilipinas,” and pay UPFA P9.3 million in damages.

In 2009, UPFA filed a complaint against EdCrisch and Alkem after finding similarities in their history textbooks.

A side-by-side comparison found that about 90 percent of the contents in UPFA’s learning material, which was published in 2002, was copied by EdCrish and Alkem’s textbook.

“Pilipinas” was published in 2006 under a procurement program of the Department of Education.

The court decision marks the third major copyright case in the Philippines’ education publishing industry.

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