ACTA, SOPA and the legallity of downloading in the PH.

Internet Piracy is rampant in the internet.Almost everyone who has access to internet can download movies, songs, or any other stuffs through the web for free. But is this downloads legal? let us look on some laws which governs or is in connection with stopping internet piracy.

 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

ACTA  or the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement , is a multinational treaty for the purpose of establishing international standards for intellectual property rights enforcement. The agreement aims to establish an international legal framework for targeting counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement on the Internet.(Source; Wikipedia, free online encyclopedia)

Stop Online Piracy Act

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a United States bill introduced  to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Provisions include the requesting of court orders to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites, and search engines from linking to the websites, and court orders requiring Internet Service Providers to block access to the websites. The law would expand existing criminal laws to include unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, imposing a maximum penalty of five years in prison. (Source; Wikipedia,free online encyclopedia)

*Note; SOPA was officialy suspended on Jan. 20,2012

Three Strike Law

In 2009, New Zealand passed the three strike law. These law aims to punish those suspected copyright infringers in the internet.

      "The so-called “three strikes” system works like this: You’re suspected of downloading and sharing copyrighted content over the Internet, and your ISP sends you a letter saying that’s very naughty, and advises you that legal content can be found elsewhere.

If you ignore the warning, you’ll get a second letter, and finally, if you’re very persistent, a third letter will arrive and you could find your Internet service cutoff and be taken to court by the copyright holders. (Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/three-strikes-law-halves-internet-piracy-in-new-zealand-with-no-prosecutions-yet/#ixzz26R9Xdwev)

 RA 8293 or the IP Code of the Philippines

RA 8293 is the law governing copyright. Philippine copyright law is enshrined in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, officially known as RA No. 8293. The law is partly based on US Copyright Law and the principles of the Berne Convention for Protection of Artistic and Literary Works. Unlike many other copyright laws, Philippine copyright laws also protect patents, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property.

Is Downloading illegal in the Philippines?

 Yes. Downloading/Internet Piracy without paying for it is illegal unless the copyright holder has given permission or the film has no copyright, downloading a movie without paying for it is a crime of copyright infringement and these are punishable under the Intellectual Property Law. 

What are the rights of the owner of a copyright?

An owner has economic rights, as enumerated  in sec 177 and moral rights, as enumerated in sec 193 of the IP Code.

When does protection over a piece of work begins?

Sec 172.2 clearly states that a work is protected from the moment of its creation while sub section (i) of Sec 171 refers to movies in particular. The IP Code also confers to the owner certain rights which are called economic rights which gives the owner the exclusive rights to carry, authorize or prohibit the use of his work.

What are the punishments?

Sec 217 provides that an infringer would be penalized by imprisonment and a fine.

Conclusion

If the law would be applied strictly, downloading movies through p2p or other ways is illegal in the Philippines as it is punishable by RA. 8293 ,however, the problem is the failure to prosecute such acts by the copyright owners and the lack of jurisprudence to support such matter.