President @noynoyaquino, please veto the Proposed Amendments to RA 8293 (Intellectual Property Code)
Atty JJ Disini sent us a copy of the Intellectual Property Amendments bill. He noted the following:
please study this new law that is now submitted for the President’s signature. Focus on Sec 216(b) which is the vicarious liability provision. Unlike the DMCA which gives service providers or website owners or bloggers a chance to take down infringing material, under the proposed amendment, the mere notification will make you liable for infringing material on your site or blog even though you might have been unaware.
Also you might be interested in Sec. 171.9 which now includes as infringement the mere “temporary” copies made of digital files or software or movies or music. This means that when you operate a computer or MP3 player or media player, you commit infringement even though you were not the one who made the infringing copy of the material onto the device.
Democracy.net.ph in a statement urged ” President Benigno Aquino III, in the strongest possible terms, to veto the proposed changes to the Intellectual Property Code which infringe on the right of the people to import books, media and music for their own personal use. The proposal is a dangerous measure that potentially criminalizes daily actions which are crucial for the daily living, psychic well-being, and self-improvement of Filipinos. The gravity of the infringement that SB 2842 and HB 3841 will bear on key rights cannot be minimized. As the Supreme Court once held”
The Bill of Rights does not shelter gravitas alone. Indeed, it is those “trivial” yet fundamental freedoms – which the people reflexively exercise any day without the impairing awareness of their constitutional consequence – that accurately reflect the degree of liberty enjoyed by the people.
Here is a copy of the Intellectual Property Amendments Bill
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