Lou Bonnevie and Toto Gentica: This is Fair Use

Since Lou Bonnevie and Toto Gentica of Dimitri Productions clearly do not grasp even the most basic intellectual property concepts, allow me to demonstrate to them fair use for comment and criticism in accordance with Section 185 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines:

Lou Bonnevie and Toto Gentica

Oh, and Dimitri, don’t bother reading through the Code for a loophole you can exploit. I already checked. I am not a laywer, but to the best of my understanding, nothing in that law could possibly justify what you did to Alodia and Tricia.

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April 26, 2008 | Filed Under IP, Law, Philippines, Photos | 10 Comments 

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 | 21 Comments 

Philippine Senate Bill Pushes DRM

DRM anticircumvention laws are such a bad idea that the US Library of Congress actively creates exceptions to them. Norway even declared iTunes DRM illegal. That’s why I’m appalled to learn that Philippine Senate Bill 880 proposes all-encompassing DRM anticircumvention laws.

CHAPTER XXI. TECHNOLOGICAL PROTECTION MEASURES AND RIGHTS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

SECTION 229A TECHNOLOGICAL PROTECTION MEASURES

229A.1. ANY PERSON WHO DOES EITHER OF THE FOLLOWING SHALL BE GUILTY OF A CRIME, PUNISHABLE TO THE SAME EXTENT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 217.1(B) OF THIS ACT FOR THE FIRST OFFENSE, AND TO THE SAME EXTENT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 217.1(C) FOR THE SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT OFFENSE, AND SHALL ALSO BE LIABLE UPON THE SUIT OF ANY INJURED PARTY, TO A RELIEF, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES, INJUNCTION, IMPOUNDMENT, AND DESTRUCTION. THE REMEDIES PROVIDED IN SECTION 216 SHALL APPLY, MUTATIS MUTANDIS, TO VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION:

(a) KNOWINGLY, OR HAVING REASONABLE GROUNDS TO KNOW, CIRCUMVENTS WITHOUT AUTHORITY ANY EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURE;

(b) OR MANUFACTURES, IMPORTS, EXPORTS, THE PUBLIC, DISTRIBUTES, OFFERS TO PROVIDES, OR OTHERWISE TRAFFICS IN DEVICES, PRODUCTS OR COMPONENTS OR OFFERS TO THE PUBLIC OR PROVIDES SERVICES:

(i) THAT ARE PROMOTED, ADVERTISED OR MARKETED FOR THE PURPOSE OF CIRCUMVENTION OF ANY EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURE;

(ii) OR THAT HAVE ONLY A LIMITED COMMERCIALLY SIGNIFICANT PURPOSE OR USE OTHER THAN TO CIRCUMVENT ANY EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURE: OR

(iii) THAT ARE PRIMARILY DESIGNED, PRODUCED, ADAPTED OR PERFORMED FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENABLING OR FACILITATING THE CIRCUMVENTION OF ANY EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURE.

229A.2. THIS SECTION PROHIBITS CIRCUMVENTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURES, AND DOES NOT REQUIRE AN AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSE TO SUCH MEASURES. THIS SECTION DOES NOT REQUIRE THAT THE DESIGN OF, OR THE DESIGN AND SELECTION OF PARTS AND COMPONENTS FOR A CONSUMER ELECTRONICS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS OR COMPUTING PRODUCT PROVIDE FOR A RESPONSE TO ANY PARTICULAR TECHNOLOGICAL MEASURE. THIS PARAGRAPH DOES NOT PROVIDE A DEFENSE TO A CLAIM OF VIOLATION OF PARAGRAPH (1)(B).

229A.3. A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION IS INDEPENDENT OF ANY INFRINGEMENT THAT MIGHT OCCUR UNDER THIS ACT.

SECTION 229B INTEGRITY OF RIGHTS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

ANY PERSON WHO DOES EITHER BE FOLLOWING SHALL BE GUILTY OF A CRIME, PUNISHABLE TO THE SAME EXTENT AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 217.1 OF THIS ACT, AND SHALL ALSO BE LIABLE UPON THE SUIT OF ANY INJURED PARTY, TO RELIEF BY WAY OF DAMAGES, INJUNCTION, IMPOUNDMENT, DESTRUCTION OR OTHERWISE, AND THE REMEDIES PROVIDED IN SECTION 216 SHALL APPLY, MUTATIS MUTANDIS, TO VIOLATIONS OF THIS SECTION.

(a) KNOWINGLY AND WITHOUT AUTHORITY REMOVES ALTERS ANY ELECTRONIC RIGHTS OR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION FROM A COPY OF A WORK, SOUND RECORDING, OR FIXATION OF A PERFORMANCE, OR KNOWINGLY AND WITHOUT AUTHORITY DISTRIBUTES, IMPORTS FOR DISTRIBUTION, BROADCASTS, COMMUNICATES OR MAKES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC COPIES OF WORKS, SOUND RECORDINGS, OR FIXATIONS OF PERFORMANCES FROM WHICH ELECTRONIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT INFORMATION HAS BEEN REMOVED; OR

(b) ALTERS ELECTRONIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENTINFORMATION WITHOUT AUTHORITY, KNOWING OR (WITH RESPECT TO CIVIL REMEDIES) HAVING REASONABLE GROUNDS TO KNOW THAT SUCH ACTIVITY WILL ENABLE OR FACILITATE AN INFRINGEMENT OF ANY RIGHT PROTECTED UNDER THIS LAW.

DRM itself is a bad idea. Enshrining it in law is an even worse idea. Enshrining it in law indiscriminately is the worst idea. Enshrining it in law indiscriminately so as to overwhelmingly protect foreign corporations’ outdated business models — hey, what’s worse than “worst”?

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January 16, 2008 | Filed Under Law, Philippines | 5 Comments 

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