AUSL Technology & the Law

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SY 2008-09 Second Sem Midterms

Answer concisely but thoroughly. Do not repeat the questions. Write legibly.

1.

  1. Distinguish between Internet, intranet, and extranet. (5%)
  2. Explain the term “decompilation,” which is used in Section 185 of the Intellectual Property Code. (5%)

2. ABC Corporation, a recording company, requested the assistance of the NBI in determining the identity of certain Filipino computer/Internet users who have been wantonly distributing its proprietary intellectual property over peer-to-peer network, in connection to a case that it has filed. One of those identified through computer forensic methodologies and cooperation of the affected Internet Service Providers (ISP), was X, previously attributed as “John Doe” in the original complaint. ABC Corporation, applied for the issuance of a search warrant against X. The search warrant indicates among others the specific address of X, and the particular item to be seized (which was a computer with a MAC Address of 00:18:DE:C8:9G:F8). Upon lawful search of X’s house (as indicated in the address in the warrant), the ones who served the warrant were able to seize a laptop, which was the only computer in the house. The laptop was sent to the computer forensic laboratory and proprietary intellectual property owned by ABC Corporation, were found at the shared folder of a popular peer-to-peer software installed in the said laptop. Y, X’s lawyer, moved the quash the warrant due to illegally obtained evidence. What could be the best basis of Y’s motion, based on the facts above? (10%)

3. The Intellectual Property notifications at the bottom of the web pages of Friendster.com provide: “Copyright 2002-2009 Friendster, Inc. All rights reserved. U.S. Patent No. 7,069,308, 7,117,254, 7,188,153 & 7,451,161.” Can a software patent be applied for in the Philippine Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Why or why not? (10%)

4. ABC corporation sells industrial products in the market. It used the trademarks of XYZ corporation’s products for its own products, and hence, impress upon the public that what it sells are actually XYZ’s products. Can XYZ Corporation file a case for Unfair Competition under Article 189 of the Revised Penal Code, independent of a case for violation of the Intellectual Property Code? Why or why not? (10%)

5. A sold a painting to B for P 30,000. B sold the painting to C for P150,000 two years thereafter. C rented out the painting to a known gallery for P15,000 per year for the next five years.

  1. Is the sale of the painting by A to B an assignment of A’s copyright rights to B? Why or why not? (5%)
  2. Can A still share in the proceeds of the sale of the painting between B and C, and in the rentals of the painting benefiting C? Why or why not? (5%)

6. ABC Press Club commissioned a mural for its building in Manila. ABC Corporation won the bid for the mural. A, B, and C, who are employees of ABC Corporation, painted the mural.

  1. Who are the author(s) / owner(s) of the mural? Why? (10%)
  2. ABC Press Club was not happy with certain elements of the mural, and requested an employee, who was also a freelance artist, to modify these elements of the mural to its satisfaction. Can it do so without issue? Why or why not? (5%)
  3. For how long would the protection of the copyright of the work in question? Why? (5%)
  4. Enumerate the economic rights of the owner of a copyright under the Intellectual Property Code. (5%)
  5. Enumerate the moral rights of the author of a copyright under the Intellectual Property Code, and indicate which of these can be waived. (10%)

7.

  1. The LawPhil project of the Arellano Law Foundation indicates a copyright holding, by providing a “Some rights reserved’ notification therein, notwithstanding the fact that what the website provides are laws and jurisprudence, which are public domain materials. How can it claim copyright rights under these circumstances? Explain. (5%)
  2. Enumerate unprotected subject matters under Copyright law. (5%)
  3. The LawPhil project uses a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial license. What does Creative Commons licensing, in general, purports to provide? Explain. (5%)

Bonus: It could be deduced from Lawerence Lessig’s talk on “Regulation” that the Internet was initially seen to allow anonymity of identities and files being transmitted under the said infrastructure, what developments/technologies have been instrumental to negate this perception/initial reality? Explain. (10%)