On 6/14/07, Dax Solomon Umaming <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > 1) Are P2P applications legal? I know this is a dumb question, but I need a > professional opinion on this matter.
The software itself shouldn't be deemed illegal only because it is used to distribute infringing content. Ideally, the P2P model speeds up delivery of content, hence created such. However, certain software can be under an export control law as in the case of the US government for reasons of national security (encryption technologies for instance). Unless there are exact provisions of law along with implementing rules, I could say its legal. > 2) Can I legally download and use software or materials that was not > registered and/or copyrighted in our country? If the software is from the United States, then it may fall under export regulation law and not allowed to be used for certain countries (usually Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, you get the idea). Some services like Pandora Radio totally restrict use outside the United States so circumvention of access may likely fall under DMCA. How local law respects laws outside, I cannot say. > 3) Regarding Fair Use, does this mean I can decompile any software for > learning purposes? Or do I have to first represent an educational institute > before I can do this. I believe the doctrine of fair use in the Philippines is pretty similar to that of the United States > 4) What about EULA's (especially Microsoft)... According to the Fair Use > clause, we can create multiple copies of software programs for Educational > purposes (30 copies of MS Office or MS Windows for one classroom) but the > EULA's restricts anyone from making copies. Will the EULA's have more weight > than our Copyright Law? The EULAs can be likened to contracts that you gave consent to be under so my best guess is that if there is a challenge to a EULA in a court, the same principle can be applied, but I maybe wrong. > 5) Is it legal to host torrent files? They are, afterall, pointers to an > actual content and not a copyrighted content itself. If you host torrent files of OPM songs that's pretty much opening up copyright infringement right? After all, for a torrent to start, you may need to seed a full binary file of whatever content. > 6) Is it legal to download copyrighted materials(mpegs, mp3s, pdf) via P2P? > <a> If not, how come no one's suing? <b> If not, can I still use it for > research (again, Fair Use)? <c> If not, can I claim that it is my backup > copy? > > 7) It's illegal to sell copyrighted materials, but is it legal to seed/host > them? See (5) > 8) Is it legal to digitize a book for personal or archival purposes? Or any > copyrighted material for that matter. > 9) Who is in charge of overseeing Copyright Infringement? > > 10) To what extent can the Business Software Alliance operate on? > > 11) Can the RIAA and MPAA touch us? If the files you host and supposedly infringe upon is hosted say in a server physically located in the United States, the most likely first thing you'll be given is a DMCA takedown. > 13) See 11, if it is legal, does that mean that I can create my own Linux > distro, include those codecs, and distribute them on the Internet (as long as > the said distro was developed in our country)? That's what PCLinuxOS seem to be doing at the moment. > 14) LibDVDCSS2 and the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray codecs are still considered by many as > cracks. Is it still legal to include them on my home-built distro and > distribute them? > 15) In our country, is it legal to post 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 > 56 88 C0 and 45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2 on my website, > my email signature, print it on my shirt and wear it, and spray paint it on > buildings here in Baguio? Sure post those things anywhere you would like, nobody would care much nor understand, they only affect software based players pretty much, spray painting them to walls is a differnt story though. > 16) Is it legal to use FairUse4WM? I am, afterall, entitled to a backup copy. Not familiar with the term > 17) Is it legal for me to join Doom9 and help them out by testing cracks in > the Philippine soil? I don't think Doom9 actually term them publicly as cracks heh. > 18) Can OMB arrest me for downloading copyrighted content? Yeah they can probably invoke the local optical media act. > 19) The Phil. Gov't created the Intellectual Property Research and Training > Institute <Philippine Star, C-3 Business>, how can we be sure that they're > not discussing Software Patents. Tricky, but I remember a year or 2 ago, the DTI actually had cases for application of software-like patents. I believe Manny Amador knows this more in-depth. > 20) Who oversees GPL here in the Philippines? None > 21) Does FSF have power over GPL'd materials in the Philippines? and to what > extent? Only if the FSF holds copyright to the said materials. There are certain GNU software with this arrangement. They also encourage having the FSF hold copyright whenever necessary (say you got tired of maintaining your own gpl'ed code and the FSF may continue to make it free under the terms of the GPL and make changes whenever necessary). > 22) Can FSF demand we publish the source code of a product that was developed > on Philippine soil even if we're not distributing the binary? It will probably be disputed under Philippine copyright law with respect to the licenses stipulated and agreed upon on the source code. -- Best, Jerome Gotangco _________________________________________________ Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [email protected] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Read the Guidelines: http://linux.org.ph/lists Searchable Archives: http://archives.free.net.ph
