OMB Fines CD-R King Over Blank Discs

I’ve been saying it for years: the Optical Media Act is a bad idea. Part of that bad idea: import permits for fucking pieces of plastic.

The Optical Media Board (OMB) has ordered CD-R King, one of the country’s biggest suppliers of optical media and related technology products, to pay P1.5 million in administrative penalties.

This was after the OMB, through the Bureau of Customs, found that the company was allegedly importing optical media discs without proper import permits from the agency, according to Cyrus Valenzuela, officer-in-charge of legal service division of OMB, in an interview.

The OMB sent its order Tuesday to CD-R King, informing them of their administrative violation of provisions of Republic Act 9239, or the Optical Media Act of 2003.

This is the same kind of thinking that gets Warner a per-Zune fee: just because a device with perfectly legitimate uses can conceivably be used for “piracy” means it should cost more. If you’re buying such a device, you’re automatically a thief and you should pay for your thievery. That’s just ludicrous! Not only does it raise the cost of legitimate information exchange — the basis of any vibrant civilization — it also serves no other purpose than to protect someone’s obsolete business model. That such an idea should be enshrined in law is even more ludicrous!

CD-R King gives a lower-income Filipinos a chance to use technology. It would be a shame to see it shut down just because the recording industry can so easily write our laws.

(Via Jepoy Bengero.)

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February 14, 2008 | Filed Under Hardware, Law, Philippines 

Comments

21 Responses to “OMB Fines CD-R King Over Blank Discs”

  1. TJ on February 14th, 2008 1:52 pm

    Booo… that’s just lame…

  2. spidamang on February 14th, 2008 2:27 pm

    Ok. If I’m a local pirate, why should I get my supplies from CDR King when I can just get smuggled blank discs wholesale at a way more cheaper price? Average pinoys are thankful for shops like CDR king. Heck from my mp3 player to my computer peripherals to some gifts I give, lahat mula sa cdr king. Parang cd r king outlet na nga bahay ko. :)
    The import permits serve no deterrence and is nothing but another fund raising activity for the OMB.

    These laws are ill conceived. tech people are definitely needed in congress. may tech party list ba? hehehe

  3. CoCaFire on February 14th, 2008 3:41 pm

    Even pirates know how to cash in better due to cheaping out on everything. CDR King is pretty legit and the quality of their stuff is good to great.

    OMB is just dipping in because they can’t think with their balls on how to earn money. In fact, OMB is a stupid name for a front.

  4. spidamang on February 14th, 2008 4:42 pm

    for a while, I thought that the DTI would be the one cracking down on CDR King as most complaints I found on the net about the shop was bad customer service and really lousy warranty plans. :)

  5. Jais on February 14th, 2008 5:11 pm

    I agree with you saying that this whole thing is really just to protect obsolete business models… darn… this is really the highest level of lameness our lawmakers can make… they’ve been lame forever but you know…

  6. Mike Abundo on February 14th, 2008 5:13 pm

    Spidamang: There’s no money in protecting consumers. There’s plenty of money in protecting the record companies.

    CoCaFire: “Omb”. Yeah, it does sound like a stupid name for a group of government-sponsored recording industry goons.

  7. Mike Abundo on February 14th, 2008 5:22 pm

    Jais: If you think that’s as lame as they can get, check out these parts of Optical Media Act:

    SEC. 19. Offenses and Penalties.-

    a. Imprisonment of at least three (3) years but not more than six (6) years, and a fine of not less than Five Hundred thousand pesos (Php 500,000.00) but not exceeding One Million five hundred thousand pesos (Php 1,500,000.00), at the discretion of the Court, shall be imposed on any person, natural or juridical, who shall:

    2. Engage in the mastering, manufacture, replication, importation or exportation of optical media without the necessary license from the OMB;

    SEC. 26. Regulation of Magnetic Media.- The provisions of this Act shall apply mutates mutandis to the regulation of magnetic media.

    Computers have hard drives. Hard drives are magnetic media. By using a computer, you are writing to (mastering) magnetic media.

    The way this law is written, the OMB could require a license to use a computer.

  8. Siege on February 14th, 2008 5:55 pm

    Great insights! Tsk, tsk, the problem with legislation talaga when the one’s in charge don’t get their hands dirty.

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  9. JC John SESE Cuneta on February 14th, 2008 8:07 pm

    Hey Mike, actually, the OMB requires a license for CD/DVD Writer Drives. This is what iCafe owners said after some of them were raided and asked if they have a license for all their CD/DVD Writer Drivers.

    Some CD/DVD without a license were “confiscated” while some were given 7-days to get a license. Sadly, those whose writers were confiscated don’t know about the stupid OMB “law”.

    The Philippines is heading to Dark Ages. How sad and pitiful.

    This calls for action. But who’s gonna do it?

  10. BoukeNSharivaN on February 15th, 2008 1:17 am

    ok now thats not great! mura kaya sa CD-R king wtf are they thinking!! sheez and JC John i will agree with u the philippines is now on the dark ages….

    we need a savior to save us all but who is it???

    DAM IT BAKIT CD-R KING PA!!! GAHHH!!!

  11. Mike Abundo on February 15th, 2008 1:27 am

    JC: As per section 26 of the Optical Media Act, whatever the OMB does to optical media it can do to magnetic media. That means they can, in fact, require licenses for hard drives. Filipinos may soon have to pay a lot more for computers.

    Bouken: There’s no money in giving people access to technology. There’s plenty of money in giving record companies access to legislation.

  12. spidamang on February 15th, 2008 7:34 am

    optical and magnetic drives eh? so does that mean they don’t care about flash based drives?

  13. lusanto_bluzone on February 15th, 2008 8:36 am

    Damn it! Why them? The Optical Media Act was nothing than a law that is good for capitalists (record companies and the recording industry) and bad for consumers (everybody else). They shoul’ve given a big time Rider Kick in their backsides for such a lame act. No wonder I hate them right now!

  14. Mike Abundo on February 15th, 2008 11:59 am

    Spidamang: Good point. We might all have to switch to flash memory.

    That would make a really crazy news story: a whole country switching to flash memory because of a badly-written law.

    Lusanto: I was on the technical working group for the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000. Now that’s a pretty good law.

    The Optical Media Act of 2003 was passed without sufficient input from the IT community. That’s why it’s such a crappy law.

  15. BoukeNSharivaN on February 15th, 2008 7:11 pm

    sir mike: yes sir mike i know what u mean ugh T_T

    spidamang and lusanto: i just hope it wont like this hay sure flash memory is ok but why? dam optical media just made the lamest decision ever

  16. JC John SESE Cuneta on February 15th, 2008 8:53 pm

    As we say in Filipino, “paurong”.

  17. Anonymous on February 21st, 2008 1:53 am

    that’s for public use lang remember,this is one of the reasons i want to migrate.

  18. Mung Klok on March 8th, 2008 5:25 pm

    Crappy law from crappy politicians. No wonder, most of our politicians are from the media - actors and newscasters.

  19. Lorelai on March 18th, 2008 3:06 pm

    Maybe the national ‘move’ to flash-based memory would make SSD prices go up or something, due to a record-high number of demand versus supply… given that both optical and magnetic media are ’sanctioned’ by the ‘OMB’…

    Isn’t that law bordering on privacy and civil rights? Well what I mean is, I own this stuff, I bought it, then it follows that I have my right to use my stuff for it is mine, but simply because of how it was made, I can therefore not use it?

    That ‘optical drive registration’ thing, if it really was supposedly a written law, should then be plastered everywhere data storage devices are sold. Something along the lines of ‘WARNING’. But why is it not? Hmm… I remember calling up people working at some PC hardware stores… Persons with even an idea of what this ‘registration’ is, are… somewhat almost non-existent.

    Well, that was immediately after the OMB ‘raid’.

    I wouldn’t be surprised at all if for some shallow chance, CD-R King closes shop. That would then be one less place to go to when I’m on a budget.

    What’s next, outlawing WLAN access?

    @mike
    Let’s go even ‘low-tech’. That law means that the OMG este OMB will even require rights to use:
    - 8-track quadraphonic
    - 1/4″ wide open-reel audio
    - ED Beta
    - SoundStream
    - Answering Machine
    and what not… the list is almost endless…

    WTFH?!

  20. Mike Abundo on March 19th, 2008 12:39 am

    Lorelai: You know, the human body produces magnetic fields that can be read as medical data. Wonder if the OMB will require licenses for those.

  21. lusanto_bluzone on March 19th, 2008 12:55 am

    The human body produces magnetic fields that can be read as medical data.

    Is that true Sir Mike? T_T Aray! Kamusta naman iyon?

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