File Transferring to Jail

Do you like to download files from the Internet? Music, games, or perhaps even movies? Well, I can tell you three things about it: (1) You are not the only one, (2) chances are it is illegal and (3) if it is, and this is the surprising part, you can now actually go to prison for it.

All of my three statements are proven correct thanks to the case of HKSAR v. Chan Nai Ming of Hong Kong. Mr. Chan was convicted for downloading files in the Internet. He was uploading/downloading movies via BitTorrent. Custom officers were able to download Daredevil, Miss Congeniality and Red Planet (I can’t believe he couldn’t pick better movies to go to jail for) from his account. The files contained his IP address which in turn revealed his home address. From then on, it was a piece of cake for the authorities. This conviction is the first of its kind in the world.

I was thinking if such a thing was possible in the Philippines. Can we pull-off a conviction against copyright infringement in P2P networks? Perhaps we are not there yet, but I honestly would like to think that we can. I don’t think it’s a question of technology. The procedure employed by the Hong Kong authorities is very basic, practically child’s play for the talented Filipino. Neither is it a question of law. We have enough of that anyway. The Intellectual Property Code is at place, operating together with the rules on electronic evidence. I honestly don’t even think it’s an issue of execution. The Intellectual Property Office is tasked to enforce our country’s Intellectual Property Laws. And with the recommendation of the United States Trade Representative to lower our ranking from the Priority Watch List to the Ordinary Watch List in light of government efforts to curtail copyright infringement, it seems like we really have what it takes to enforce copyright should we want to.

And there lies the problem: political will. I think the time we decide to prosecute copyright infringers will be the time when we can. We do not need to prosecute everyone. Just a handful will create enough chilling effect to deter infringers. And when that time comes, people will have to kiss their downloading days goodbye.

- Elgene L. C. Feliciano