Intellectual Property : Using CTTO is Not Giving Credits at All

When we scroll through our social media, especially on Facebook, we often see a lot of pages owned by different people posting the same contents or pictures with a little modification, for example the watermarks or even just borders and caption it with the acronym of “CTTO” or credits to the owner. This acronym is widely used by the social media users as an alternative on acknowledging the owner with the work since it was not handy for them to find the original creator of the work. This behavior is problematic because it degrades the right of the owner to that piece since they are not even mentioned in giving credits.

Because people all around the globe are growing increasingly reliant on the internet, it has become one of the channels via which authors or producers market their works or express their creativity by putting it on their social media accounts. And these projects are simpler to replicate because you can just download the photographs and files or copy and paste their words. Because there is a law that protects the rights of writers to their works, this action may be unlawful in the nation if you did not obtain permission to do so or did not provide sufficient credit.

Every individual in our nation has the right to their own original inventions, songs, designs, or works of art. This right is called copyright and is protected under Republic Act No. 8293, often known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. The author has moral ( that means has the right to the ownership and restraining on using his name in works that he/she didn’t do) and economic (rights to the financial rewards from his/her works) rights to his or her literary and artistic creations. Now if the author had seen an unauthorized publication of his or her works, he or she may sue the person/s who are responsible for the illegal production of the piece under the crime of copyright infringement.

Since the majority of the people around the planet are users of social media and a lot of them are sharing the same contents and using the acronym ctto, it will be much harder for us to find who was really the author of that creation. We won’t be able to properly acknowledge the outstanding work of the author if we didn’t even know their name or even the company. It would be very disrespectful or hurtful to the owners that we are able to acknowledge their pieces without even recognizing the author.

Also, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) had posted on their Facebook page that posting other’s creations and just using ctto as their citation is still an act of infringement. The person who wants to share the work should formally ask permission from the owner and if granted, they should mention the owner’s name and the site where you got it from.

You can still use those copyrighted works under certain situations because of a principle known as fair use. Under this approach, a person may use a copyrighted work on a limited basis, such as for personal use, teaching, criticizing, and commenting on their works, without seeking permission. According to the IPOPHL, while applying the idea of fair use, four elements are considered: the purpose and character of your use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the piece used, and the effect of the usage on the potential market. But even so, we still need to put their full name and cite your sources because the acronym ctto is not enough to give honor to their hard work.

The widespread usage of the internet made it easier for us to gain access to information or other people's works. If we ever find ourselves surprised or wish to criticize their works, we may simply share it with a single click. However, if we come across a random artwork on the internet without appropriate citations and have the same sentiments expressed and want to share it, we should probably make an effort to identify the right owner and ask permission to do so. What if they couldn't discover the original author, some wondered? Simply do not reproduce it as a show of respect for their rights and to avoid legal consequences. Using ctto is not giving the owners credits at all, instead, it violates the intellectual property .