AUSL Technology & the Law

I

1. What are subject matters not given any protection under Copyright law? (4%)
2. What are the general kinds of works, provided under Copyright law? Give two (2) statutory examples each. (6%)

II

1. What is an electronic signature? (5%)
2. What is a digital signature? (5%)

III

1. X, a gospel singer from the United States, is known in the Philippines to fans of praise or church music. X made an agreement with ABC collecting society, which would authorize the latter to collect royalties for the performance of his songs withing the Philippine jurisdiction. Y, an executive of ABC, and his wife, heard two of X’s songs being played during a religious service (mass) at DEF cathedral, performed by GHI choir which was under the supervision of JKL archdiocese. ABC sent a demand letter to the GHI, to collect royalties for the use of X’s songs, and threatened to sue for copyright infringement if the latter refused to pay the stated royalties. Was ABC correct in its demand? Why or why not? (4%)
2. X was a member of a band. During a festival held in Boracay, is band — in keeping with the theme of the festival — started the show with a reggae version of the Philippine national anthem. Is their version of said anthem protected under Copyright law? Argue both sides of the contention. (3% each)

IV

1. Is there a difference between an electronic document and an electronic data message? Provide basis. (5%)
2. What is necessary to be attached to the print-out of an electronic document so that the electronic document may be made admissible in court? Explain. (5%)

V

1. X sent a letter from his computer, using the WinFax (TM) program, o Y’s fax machine, which churned/produced a thermal paper output (facsimile). Will the facsimile resulting from this, received by Y, be appreciated as an original under the Best Evidence Rule? Why or why not? (5%)
2. If X sent the letter from his fax machine to Y’s fax machine, would your answer be the same? Why or why not? (5%)

VI

1. Enumerate the copyright owner’s economic rights under Copyright law. (5%)
2. Enumerate the author’s moral rights under Copyright law. (3%)
3. Which of the moral rights can the author be allowed to waive? (2%)

VII

X used is USB flash disk at an Internet cafe in Malate, Manila. X subsequently borrowed his classmate’s (Y’s) laptop, upon arriving in school in Pasay, to send an electronic document, which was in the flash disk, to his girlfriend by email. Y’s laptop got infected by a virus, stored in X’s flash disk, which changed the firmware configuration of he machine. This change fried both the laptop’s motherboard and hard disk, rendering the laptop useless and destroying all data stored therein. Y was so furious that he sued X for violation of Republic Act 8792 (or the e-Commerce Law), particularly under Section 33 (a) thereof, which mentions “… including introduction of virus… ” as prohibited acts. Is X liable? Argue for both sides of the contention. (5% each)

VIII

1. What or who qualifies to be a “service provider” under the e-Commerce law? (5%)
2. What are the legal responsibilities of a service provider under the e-Commerce law? (5%)

IX

X works in ABC Company, and primarily designs furniture as part of his duties in the company. The company, which is owned by Y, selects the materials to be used in the mass production of furniture emanating from such design (as part of its product line), with Y adjusting the design to admit technology (which was adopted from external sources upon the recommendation of the company’s engineer Z) to ensure structural integrity.

1. Who is/are the author(s) of the furniture as an applied work of art? Why? (3%)
2. Who is/are the owner(s) of the furniture design in its final form? Why? (3%)
3. What is/are the term(s) of protection provided for the furniture design, in its physical form and/or in its illustration? (4%)

X

1. X finished the manuscript for his proposed book in June 2008. He has previously executed promissory notes in favor of the school administration for the past exams during the semester. Not having the money to pay for his law school tuition, which he needed desperately to take the final exams, and without any luck in borrowing the said amount from family or friends, he sold the original manuscript to Y for a measly amount of P 15,000. Y’s friend (Z), a collector of rare literary works, saw the genius in X’s writing and offered Y the amount of P 500,000 for such manuscript. Y agreed, and hence, the object and the consideration for the agreement exchanged hands. After the final exams, X learned about the transaction between Y and Z, and demanded the amount of P 25,000 from Y, separate from the amount of their initial transaction. Can X legally make such demand? Why or why not? (5%)
2. If in case X’s work was actually published, if you would use his work for your purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright owner exercising rights over the work, what would the necessary requisites for one to claim fair use? (5%)

Bonus

What are the regulators mentioned by Lawrence Lessig in his talk entitled “Rugulation” (which was shown in class)? Explain their relationship. (5%)