IPOPHL clarifies intellectual property law after viral teacher sought protection for math discovery
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) responded to a viral Facebook post by Danny Calcaben, a public school teacher from Quezon province, who claimed a new mathematical discovery.
IPOPHL clarified that under the IP Code of 1997, mathematical formulas are not protected from being copied, raising important questions about intellectual property rights and educational innovations.
In a Facebook post on July 22, IPOPHL explained that the IP Code does not protect mathematical formulas which are facts part of the public domain, unless they are presented in a unique way.
“The IP Code of 1997 does not protect a mathematical formula, hence, does not give its creator the right to prevent others from copying it,” the agency stated.
According to IPOPHL, Section 175 of Republic Act 8293 states that copyright protection does not extend to “any idea, procedure, system method or operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data as such, even if they are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work.”
This means that while a written manuscript of the formula can be protected by copyright, the formula itself cannot.
Additionally, IPOPHL cited Section 22 of the law, which explicitly excludes “discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods” from patent protection.
While the formula itself is not protected, IPOPHL mentioned that the written form of the formula, like Calcaben’s manuscript, could be copyrighted, offering some protection for the teacher’s work.
With this, the agency encouraged academics to reach out to the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights to register their work and get a certificate of copyright recordal to add proof of ownership.
To recall, Calcaben had posted a letter addressed to the President, seeking help to protect his discovery from plagiarism.
His post sparked widespread attention and debate on social media, highlighting the public’s interest in intellectual property rights and protections for educational and scientific discoveries.
To date, Calbacen’s post appears to have been deleted or made unavailable.
