Art forgery

I am a freelance painter and I earn a decent amount of money by selling my paintings. However, I
recently discovered that my neighbor is imitating and reproducing my artworks. He is also passing off
my artworks as his own, deceiving the buyers and luring them to buy artworks from him. Unfortunately,
my source of income was affected because of his deceitful conduct. Is there any law punishing his act?

Please be informed that you may hold your neighbor liable of his act of imitating your
artworks and passing it off as his own. This is in accordance with Section 3 (a) (4) of
Republic Act 9105 (RA 9105) or the "Art Forgery Act of 2001," which provides:

"Section 3. Definition of Terms – For purposes of this Act, the following terms or
phrases used herein shall mean or be understood as follows:

"(a) Art forgery is committed by any person or entity who commits any of the following
acts: x x x

"(4) Imitating or reproducing any work of fine art with intent to deceive the public or
the buyer as to the authenticity of the work.

"(b) Work of fine art refers to all original works of art like paintings, sculpture, drawings
and artwork produced in multiples such as graphic and photographic works and
sculpture casts, but shall not include works intended to be mass-produced for
commercial use; [...]"

Relatedly, Section 11 of the same act provides:

"Section 11. Penalties – Any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in Section
3(a) of this Act shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and
one (1) day but not more than twelve (12) years, and a fine not less than Fifty Thousand
pesos (P 50,000.00) but not more than Five Hundred Thousand pesos (P 500,000.00).

"If the acts are committed by a corporation, partnership or any kind of judicial entity,
the penalty provided herein shall be imposed on its chief executive and/or other
officials responsible therefor.

"If the acts are committed by the art dealers or the owners or operators of art galleries,
they shall suffer, in addition to the penalties provided herein, the automatic revocation
of their license to operate."
Therefore, in your situation, your neighbor is violating the above-mentioned prohibited
act. If found guilty, he may be penalized under Section 11 of the said act.