Text of the provision

Art. 724. Special laws govern copyright and patent.

(429a)

Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings and the Official Gazette, all three of which agree word for word.

What this article means

The closing article of the Intellectual Creation chapter, immediately before the Code turns to Donation. It is a short pointer provision: copyright and patent are left to special laws rather than to the Civil Code's own text. At the time of enactment that meant statutes like the old Patent Law and the Law on Copyright; today the pointer resolves to the Intellectual Property Code (Republic Act No. 8293) and its amendments, which is why the preceding articles on intellectual creations (rights before publication, ownership of letters) still matter as general background even though the detailed rules now live elsewhere.

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.