Copyright on the language of http://

Access to variety of works including articles, books, audiovisual and multimedia files has been made convenient thru the use of internet. Internet now becomes a library where all sorts of information are readily available for downloading either for free or for a fee.

Downloading of files from the internet has become a normal course of people in cases where they need access to any information, documents, and multimedia files. With the hype of technology and easy access to information thru internet, controls need to be set to protect the rights of owners of information and to enforce obligations against people who exploit information.

Countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand have proposed necessary controls to protect the rights of the authors, specifically, copyright, in relation to their works readily available in the internet. In the United States, Representative Lamar S. Smith introduced the bill Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) which aims to expand the ability of U.S. law enforcement agencies to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. The act includes measures where courts can order the barring of advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with infringing websites as well as prevent search engines from linking to websites that violate the law. The courts can also require internet service providers to block access to these websites. Another proposed bill in the US on the other hand, the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), aims to give the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to “rogue websites dedicated to the sale of infringing counterfeited goods” especially those registered outside US. This Law authorizes the Justice Department of the US to seek court order against violating websites. Furthermore,

 PIPA states that “an information location tool shall take technically feasible and reasonable measures as expeditiously as possible, to remove or disable access to the internet site associated with the domain name set forth in the order…and delete all hyperlinks to the offending internet site”.

Like in United States, the United Kingdom has its own law on protecting intellectual properties – theDigital Economy Act 2010. This Law explains the function of UK’s Office of Communications to make provisions about online infringement of copyright, penalties for infringement of copyright, and performer’s rights. The Law also states the enforcing 

of controls over internet domain, providers, and for other related purposes.

New Zealand on the other hand has implemented a Three Strike rule against internet piracy where, generally, a copyright tribunal can issue fines and can remove access to the internet for a significant period of time should an individual infringe the country’s copyright laws.

In the Philippines, Republic Act 8792 otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Law of the Philippines, protects the right of the authors by virtue of Section 177 provides:

Copyright or Economic Rights. - Subject to the provisions of Chapter VIII, copyright or economic rights shall consist of the exclusive right to carry out, authorize or prevent the following acts:

177.1. Reproduction of the work or substantial portion of the work;

177.2. Dramatization, translation, adaptation, abridgment, arrangement or other transformation of the work;

177.3. The first public distribution of the original and each copy of the work by sale or other forms of transfer of ownership;

177.4. Rental of the original or a copy of an audiovisual or cinematographic work, a work embodied in a sound recording, a computer program, a compilation of data and other materials or a musical work in graphic form, irrespective of the ownership of the original or the copy which is the subject of the rental; (n)

177.5. Public display of the original or a copy of the work;

177.6. Public performance of the work; and

177.7. Other communication to the public of the work. (Sec. 5, P. D. No. 49a)

The act of downloading the materials in the internet like blog articles, audiovisual, and multi media , is not within the expressed list of prohibition in the abovementioned section 177. The Law explicitly prohibits any person not authorized by the author to reproduce, adapt, dramatize, distribute, lease, display, perform and communicate the work in the public but did not say any infringement which relates to downloading from the internet. It is however required for a person who uses a work of another to attribute the work by mentioning the name of the author in the work as prescribed in section 193 of the code;

Section 193. Scope of Moral Rights. - The author of a work shall, independently of the economic rights in Section 177 or the grant of an assignment or license with respect to such right, have the right:

193.1. To require that the authorship of the works be attributed to him, in particular, the right that his name, as far as practicable, be indicated in a prominent way on the copies, and in connection with the public use of his work;

193.2. To make any alterations of his work prior to, or to withhold it from publication;

193.3. To object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, his work which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation; and

193.4. To restrain the use of his name with respect to any work not of his own creation or in a distorted version of his work. (Sec. 34, P.D. No. 49)

Further, to address Online Piracy in the country, there is a bill being proposed patterned after SOPA and PIPA where the government is given authority to likewise, shut down local websites illegally distributing pirated software and applications, block international sites which distribute copyrighted materials, and impose penalties to those who will infringe the right of the copyright owners. This bill aims to protect the rights of the growing number of bloggers, writers, and artists who use internet as platform for their artistic and literary

 works.

Just like the critics of PIPA and SOPA bills, the proposed bill on Online Piracy concerns freedom of expression which is a constitutional right of the people.  The question whether the copyright of the authors may run against the freedom of expression of the person who will be found infringing or violating the supposed law on online piracy should be addressed.

For most people, internet is a way of life. Internet is not only used as a social platform to establish network, it is also used for communication, expression of ideas, employment, and as repository of information. With the passage of the bill, the government is given the authority to shut down the sites defying copyright laws and penalize its owners. This authority will have the power to constraint not only the website owner’s right to express their works thru their respective websites but further constraint the people from the supposed information that they could access through these sites. The act of shutting down or blocking off the websites may be a form of constraint against freedom of expression of its owners. Using the balance of interest test in constitutional law, freedom of expression, a constitutional right is supreme over property right of the Copyright owners.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18953353