PASIG CITY, Philippines–Individuals downloading music, movies and software are being targeted by the Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT), a consultant for the software organization Business Software Alliance (BSA) said.

However, trapping and prosecution of individuals may not happen until the country’s Intellectual Property Code is amended.

BSA consultant Bienvenido Marquez III said in an interview that end-users should also be liable for piracy, even if downloads are for personal use.

The growing usage and decreasing cost of broadband Internet services in the Philippines are now allowing people to download larger files, such as software and movies, into their hard drives.

"We can't prosecute individuals because there is no such law. However, we can go after individuals or even shops caught sharing or selling downloaded items," he said.

He added that even the E-Commerce Law has no specific provisions on prosecuting piracy through downloading.

Marquez said Congressman Rufus Rodriguez and Senator Edgardo Angara have proposed amendments to the current IPR Code.

Marquez said downloading of illegal content from the Internet has increased worldwide and in the Philippines and that losses could be in the millions.

There are now a lot software applications and peer-to-peer websites that allow downloading of content from the Internet.

However, there are few laws abroad governing prosecution of users who download content from the Internet partly because content are hosted in different places abroad.