TechLocal.com reports that there is a brewing plan for a bill to combat online piracy in the Philippines. A group is said to be lobbying in congress and the senate to pass a bill similar to SOPA or PIPA.
This move aims to help protect copyright owners from having their content being pirated by others, either as a hobby or for profit.
The most likely materials are movies, music, software, photos and other IP-protected content. Of course, since the record labels and the movie producers are the ones heavily affected by online piracy, they’re the ones who are doing much of the lobbying.
We already have the Business Software Alliance that’s doing the rounds in helping curb software piracy and the OMB (Optical Media Board) raiding shops and stalls selling fake CDs.
This Anti-Online Piracy proposal will bring the fight to the internet along with the coordination of concerned sites and internet service providers. The proposal is just that — still a proposal and could be patterned with the SOPA and PIPA in the US Congress but with some finer adjustments to adapt to local settings.
This might include any or all of the following provisions and penalties:
- Shutting down of local websites illegally distributing pirated software and apps.
- Closing down of local sites that provide downloads of unlicensed songs or movies.
- Blocking off international sites that are known to openly assist in illegally distributing copyrighted materials.
- Imposing penalties on local websites that uses copyrighted materials without proper consent or attribution.
- Imposing penalties on individuals or groups that openly share or distribute copyrighted content.
This could mean the end to a lot of local sites — sites that offer streaming TV shows (telenovelas, news, etc), blogs that offer downloads to cracks and hacks to software, forums that provide avenues for users to share copyrighted content like songs or mobile apps, and many more.
In hindsight, this proposal could also help online publishers and bloggers as well:
- A blogger can now easily have another website or blog shut down for illegally copying articles, photos and videos.
- A blogger can now claim damages against news portals illegally lifting their copyrighted videos and photos. We’ve reported on a number of similar cases where TV networks and online news sites taking content and photos from bloggers without prior consent or compensation.
- Bloggers can report sites that scrape their RSS feeds and have local ISPs block these sites.
- Web designers can run after 3rd parties that copy their designs, logos and artworks and implements it on their own website or sell them to others.
A lot of bloggers have asked me how they can protect their content from being used by others without their consent and my usual advice is for them to enable a number of technical safeguards (prevent hotlinking, watermarking, reporting to Google AdSense, filing DMCA complaints).
Having this proposal enacted into a bill will provide a lot of benefits to bloggers, website owners, independent artists and web designers.
However, and depending on how this proposal is worded, it could also have far-reaching effects on how we use and enjoy the internet. We’ve already seen how MegaUpload was recently shut down by the FBI (and according to news reports, the Philippines helped the FBI in their investigation).
Compiling all relevant links to SOPA and PIPA and I came across this on Twitter.
I believe that content creators and owners should have protection from copying of their content, but all supposed violations should be examined first for fair use. Otherwise this would destroy the context of the social web as we know it, which is the sharing of content.
Besides, knowing who the backers of this bill are, it will most likely be used to suppress distribution of big media content. Bloggers’ rights will just be an afterthought.
IMHO, nobody even needs to copy content anymore. The web is full of bandwagon-jumping bloggers all spouting the same views on things, they unconsciously copy each other.
I think it would be of more benefit for the citizens of this country if this people would concentrate their energies in trying to lobby for a law that would stop or at least minimize network fraudulent promos being committed by Telecommunications Networks here in the Philippines and stealing load points from the least of the citizenry.
“How do you kill the movie and TV industries? Or more precisely (since at this level, technological progress is probably predetermined) what is going to kill them? Mostly not what they like to believe is killing them, filesharing. What’s going to kill movies and TV is what’s already killing them: better ways to entertain people. So the best way to approach this problem is to ask yourself: what are people going to do for fun in 20 years instead of what they do now?” — Paul Graham of Y Combinator, “RFS 9: Kill Hollywood” http://ycombinator.com/rfs9.html
Yet another epic fail.
ang dami pang problema ng bansa, gusto pa nila pumasok agad dito? di ba nila nakikita ang nagigign reaction ng mga nasa US?
sorry, pero unting utak naman
Twitter: iarechristian
says:
hey phil. government how about fixing our salaries/wages so we can afford to pay for cds, movie tickets, etc. etc.
When I search Nike in Google, Yahoo, Bing, Wikipedia, I see Nike logos inside their site, those logos are copyrighted. In the US SOPA and PIPA version they’re going to block them via domain name / DNS. Which means they are going to impose US laws on non-US countries. The internet should be neutral and global, no country owns the internet. The Philippine existing laws are powerful enough to warn, educate, get rid and punish the pirates. Lots of businesses in the Philippines used pirated software were already warn and those who didn’t convert to original software within 11 days were punished (http://www.papt.org.ph/). If our version of the law is similar to the US, like manipulating the DNS then in principle we can impose Philippine laws in non-Philippine countries. Blocking Yahoo, Google and others worldwide LOL. According to the article, this law applies locally, this means we can’t see Yahoo, Google and others anymore locally if they strictly impose it.
pag di na ako makadownload dahil sa sopa na yan. sa mga pirata quiapo na ko tatakbo. win-win situation para sa kanila to…walang kwenta tong sopa/pipa.
ahhh I might kindly suggest that you look further than your own misguided logic in this matter…
If bills like this pass into law, just wait until your website (and hence your income) is taken down on a pernicious lie by someone who is a competitor or who simply has a grudge against you.
These laws are all based on shoot first then ask questions later (if at all!)
Obviously these bills will all be in favour of the big media companies (who have the $$$ to influence lawmakers), not small fry bloggers seeking to eke out a living from their endeavours…
Indeed your self interest as a blogger should be to fully support internet freedoms whilst pursuing your full and given rights under existing copyright laws where appropriate!
Hay naku, even without SOPA/PIPA laki parin kita ng mga international movie and local producers/artists. di pa rin sila maghihirap. at sa local industry naman, asa pa silang mabubuhay uli ang local movie (in fairness naman sa local movie, kumikita naman ang movies ng viva at star cinema kahit papano) at local music kung makikisabay sila sa SOPA na yan. Kahit may mga illegal downloading sites, as if namang bibili ang tao ng legal. kahit illegal nga eh, kulelat ang stats ng mga OPM songs sa mga sharing/illegal downloading sites. look at opm files sa 4shared, ambaba.. libre pa yan ha, ano pa kaya kung may bayad???
we dont need another bill or law for copyright, meron na tayong IPR Code. waste of time lang yan.
gawa ng gawa sila ng law di naman natutupad, katulad ng cyber crimes , prostitutes, online bullying. Until now walang nahuhuli, pano pa ang piracy puro nalang sila gaya gaya puto maya parang mga bata. Yun Piracy law nga naten sa quiapo di parin naaalis until now ang dami ko parin nakikita nagbebenta dahil binabayaran sila ng mga tao dun (under the table). kung tutuparin nila yan walang mangyayari sa ginagawa nila dahil pag natupad ang batas nito ganun parin ang pilipinas walang magbabago parin. Ang kaylangan gawin ng mga movie/ music industry is to make not just good movies, but great movies example palang un PANDAY 2 intro palang alam mo na kinuha nila un itsura sa RISE OF THE TITANS. Ano kinalabasan dun diba PLAGIARISM na yan? nakakahiya industry naten puro gayagaya nalang kaya kung ako un movie makers ng film madedemanda ko un gumawa ng PANDAY. kaya magisip isip muna sila bago sila gumawa ng batas!
Many of the people who download content will most likely buy that content if they really like it, parang window shoping siya.
yet another copycat from philippines…
Hindi naman puro negative ang epekto ng piracy sa industriya ng musika at movies, kung tutuusin nakakatulong pa nga ito dahil ito ay nagiging isang venue para mas lalong sumikat ang isang artista. Dahil sa pagkakaroon na availability ng mga materials ng libre nagkakaroon ng access ang mga walang kakayahang bumili ng mga orig na materials.
Example nito ay ang China talamak ang piracy rito pero hindi naman naghihirap ang mga artista dahil nga mas nagiging kilala ang artista dahil sa pagkakaroon ng availability online. Nagkakaroon naman ng maraming gigs at mas nagiging kilala ang artista.
Dahil nga sa internet maraming sumikat hindi naman ito talangang nakakasira sa industrya bagkos mayroon panga itong naitutulong. Nasasa artista nalang kung papano nya gagamitin ang kasikatan nya online para gawing pera.
Milyon milyon ang kita ng movie producers bakit natin sasabihing lugi sila?
baka unang ma block na website ay yung government for using pirated software, kakahiya naman
tama, at burahin na rin nila mga copied mp3 files nila sa phone, hehe
If they are talking about protection for copyrighted material. Big TV networks in the Philippines have similar programming concepts captured from the US and other countries which can be sued for. So much for SOPA/IP protection.
In reference look what happened to Globe Tonino Lamborghini ad – it went nowhere due to violations.
masyado namang gaya-gaya ang mga authorities natin, di na nga pumatok sa US, dito naman itutulak pa! ang tatanga na natin kung ito makaka-arangkada pa! please see bitsinbits.wordpress.com on this – What’s SOBRA about SOPA
sana matuloy na!! goodbye internet lulz!! pack dis shet
sana magunaw na din ang mundo sa 21 dec 2012
May mangyari kaya dito?
Paano yung mga government sector na sila mismo di aware na copyright violator sila? Like for example: DOT na gumamit ng mga photo materials na walang permiso ng photographer na may-ari ng photos; government websites na downloaded sa internet yung stock photos; government websites na yung text ay copy-and-pasted from some other foreign website (hehe, meron nito, sobrang bobo, pati pangalan ng website na kipopyahan hindi na-edit)?
I mean, hindi impossible na government mismo natin ay walang kaalam alam sa mga ginagawa nila.
Isama mo pa yung taxation sa mga online stores/selling, paano kung yung server where the site is hosted ay nasa labas ng Pilipinas; paano kung yung payment gateway and/or card processor ay wala rin sa Pilipinas; paano kung yung online transaction ay hindi rin sa Pilipinas?
IMO, walang kwenta ‘to e. Wala tayo sa tamang lugar at wala tayong kapangyarihan dito. Tulungan muna nila tayo na magkaroon ng tamang infrastructure: run and host our own servers; empower our trade and banks; etc. Hindi yung puro daldal at puro papel o pagpapel lang ang inuuna.
Twitter: seraphica_seven
says:
,eto na naman tayo… paunlarin muna ang Pilipinas ndi ung inaaksaya dito sa SOPA/PIPA.. kalokohan! Ibasura dapat ang mga yan! Mga SALOT sa lipunan!
Twitter: daniojr
says:
Good for those whose have original, and bad for those who duplicate..
Twitter: soulannihilator
says:
A law like this will only benefit a few ones particularly the already rich people in the country. Not the ones in the streets.
Bakit walang nagoopose sa atin nga mga batas na ganito. Unlike sa US buhay na buhay ang mga mamayan nila. Talo nanaman dito ang mga maliliit.
this is BS. I usually download free stuff on the internet, if it’s great then I buy the original to help the artist. ganun lang kasimple. If it’s crap I don’t finish reading the first chapter. same with movies.
Invasion of privacy ito. Ipopolice daw tayo ng mismong mga ISP bawat ginagawa natin.
Tapos kahit maglink lang magiging krimen? Parehas talo ang maliliit pati mga musikero at artista dito, bakit? Kasi maiimpose din sakanila ang same rules na ito at malilimit ang visibility nila online.