Planning to get your iOS device jailbroken?
Coming back from a foreign trip with foreign merchandise such as CDs. Books, Games and Movies?
Allowing a renting shop owner in your establishment to sell pirated software?
Loading “free” (which are obviously hacked/nulled) versions of paid games and content on your device?
All of these acts are now considered criminal acts under the revised Philippine Republic Act 8293 otherwise known as the revised Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.
RaissaRobles.com writes: “The law — a consolidated measure amending RA 8293, was sent to Malacañang Palace on January 29, 2013 and just needs the signature of President Benigno Aquino III to become effective.”
If you have been following Yahoo’s net index or other similar reports of internet usage pattern and behavior in the Philippines, you will find that a big chunk of online activity is consumption of media as well as downloading of media.
Maybe this is the kind of law mobile companies have been waiting for to finally monetize. Maybe this will spur actual commerce in the apps/online music/e-books business. Or Maybe this will just make Pinoys returning home with “illegal” materials open to extortion and/or harassment.
It would be interesting to see a study of how much of our mobile apps/content in our current mobile devices are considered “legal”. My guess is more than you expect.
Source: http://raissarobles.com
