ISP Fined for Blocking VoIP Traffic

This relates to something the FCC did for a leading VoIP provider.  In this country, can we expect the same from the NTC when it comes to enforcing its VoIP regulations?

Who knows?

Regulating IP Services?

Susan Crawford blogged about a US congressional hearing where rules for IP-enabled services were discussed.  IP stands for ‘internet protocol’ — that piece of code that everything from blogs to email work. Her account of the hearing left me curious about the US Government’s unique ability to regulate the Internet. 

It’s no secret that the Internet was created with funding from the US Federal Government and one of its essential parts has been contracted to a California non-profit company by the US Department of Commerce.   This means the US government can and has claimed some sort of ownership over the technology underlying the Internet and in this sense, the US Congress has some authority to regulate it.  The US Congress could, for example, pass legislation that ICANN would be bound to comply.  No other foreign government can make such a claim.

The previously-believed “inherent unregulability” of the Internet is largely untrue.  China has shown that Internet users can be corraled not unlike cows.  After all, the average Internet user is not much more intelligent than and is as visible as a large bovine. 

What I’m waiting to see is how the US Congress proposes to regulate IP-enabled services given its unique leverage. 

Of Gays and Government

I was surprised that the First Gentleman’s spokesperson described GMA’s (aka Ginoong Mike Arroyo’s)  detractors as follows:

Santos said, “Only cowards and gays destroy people’s reputations with lies and intrigues.” (emphasis mine; as reported in INQ7)

I guess it sounds better in Tagalog (”Mga bakla at duwag . . . “) but what intrigues me is that it doesn’t seem to be politically incorrect in this country to make a disparaging reference to homosexuals.  I mean, if he said “only cowards and (choose one: Muslims, Igorots, Mangyans, Military Men, Lawyers from UP, etc.), he’d be in deep doo-doo.

This reminded me of a scene in Angels in America where Roy Cohn speaks about homosexuals and political power. He says being gay isn’t about sexual preference but clout — men have it and gays don’t.  So, by his definition, he’s not gay, he’s a man who sleeps around with other men. 

Gays in this country have no political power — or at least, they’ve never tried to establish a political base.  Gays may inhabit the highest levels of government and business but they’re deep within their closets.  For this reason, they cannot affiliate themselves with the “Gay Movement.”

Things may change (or maybe the process has already started) and one day, homosexuals will be defined more than an annual debaucherous parade in Malate.

BTW, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not a homo-phobe.  In fact, I was once a fag hag.

iBlog therefore iAm

As of this morning, there are more than 100 registrants to iBlog, the Philippines’ First Blogging Summit.  So far, we’ve only promoted the event on-line.  Today, we’re going to place 200 posters in different areas around the city to drive more attendance. 

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad.

I’m excited that there’s so much interest in the event (after all, it’s FREE).  I recognize that even though the blogging community is hardly organized, the power of the Internet to connect people has resulted in this convergence of bloggers in one space.   As we suspected, there are lots of bloggers out there.  We’re proud and honored to host this event and we can’t wait to meet this band of bloggers.

On the other hand, our program’s meager resources may not be enough to accomodate everyone as comfortably as we’d like.  The space is big enough to handle 300 people but we may not have enough to feed everyone.  But I’m hopeful.  If you remember the sermon on the mount, Jesus fed thousands from the packed lunch of a child.  There’s another version that says most people brought their own lunch but having seen the child’s generosity, shared their food with others.  Bloggers are a strange bunch but sharing is not alien to them.  Through their blogs, they’ve opened up their lives and most intimate thoughts to us.  It’s that spirit that I’m counting on to help us feed the folks at iBlog. 

Otherwise, please help us get us more sponsors!  

UP Law Graduation 2005

I was on my way to the UP Film Center for the UP Law Class 2005 Graduation when I took this picture of the oblation partially clothed with a sablay. Officially, it’s a recognition ceremony because the University graduation (held last Sunday) is the one that confers the degree.  But noone ever attends the University graduation (at least, I’ve never been to one and I have 2 degrees from UP and have been in the faculty for the last 5 years).  It’s held outdoors in the ampitheater behind Quezon Hall under the searing heat of the Diliman sun.  The trees that line the Academic Oval provide no respite; this area is devoid of trees.

Anyway,  the College of Law recognition ceremonies was a little different this year.  First, only the faculty marched from the rear of the Film Center — the graduates entered from backstage.  Second, the faculty was placed on-stage looking much like a jury on Survivor.  We were introduced individually and the announcer made it a point to tell the audience what subjects we taught.  I was a bit embarrassing when I heard the word “cyberlaw”  — it’s a term that’s past its prime.  Third,  as mentioned, the graduates appeared on-stage from behind and instead of the usual music, they opted to use a rock song — the title of which I don’t know.  Electric guitars wailing and drums pounding as these lawyers-to-be marched to their seats with the audience. Finally, the Class of 2005 took to the stage and posed with the faculty for a large group picture.  It couldn’t possible fit into one shot and I suspect some digital stitching will be done.
(more…)

iBlog Site Now Up

The iBlog Summit Site is now up! If you’re attending, please sign up to reserve your seat. Thank you!

Temporary Problems with iBlog Site

The iBlog site appears to be down but it’s not. When I registered the domain, I set up a redirect that for some reason doesn’t work now. But for those who are interested in signing up, please visit the iBlog Site at http://www.i-blog.ploghost.com/wp/.  I apologize for any incovenience, the domain should be working by tomorrow, Monday, April 25, 2005.

Pacific Planholders Unite and Blog!

I ran across this entry on the PCIJ blog about Pacific Plan holders who have organized themselves and set up a blog in the process called Pacific Plans - Broken Dreams. They’ve complained about the lack of media coverage and have revealed GMA’s close relationship with Ambassador Yuchengco.

For me, this development tells us a few things: First and foremost, people don’t set up websites anymore. They blog. With a variety of tools and free options out there, blogging is the easiest and fastest mode to getting yourself published on-line.

Second, blogs can be used as a focal point for thousands of users with a cause. This virtual tool might be able to make things happen in real space — in much the same way SMS forced a sitting President from office. But I noticed that the Pacific Plans blog is run by people calling themselves PEP and PEP349 thereby raising the possibility that these were the same folks who participated in the Pepsi 349 issue some years back. How unfortunate to have bought a softdrink bottle with a 349 tansan and an educational plan from Pacific Plans.    

Third, this experience will inform us if blogs can become a way to get mindshare in traditional media. Will the newspapers follow this blog and make reports on that basis? Of course, the anonymous nature of this particular blog might raise concerns with journalists who have a healthy fear of kuryente. So, it might just be something that will lose relevance. After all, anonymity doesn’t build up credibility. If you want people to listen, you have to identify yourself. 

All in all, I’m happy about this. I’ve always believed more people should blog for all sorts of reasons from the idiotic, to the political, to the sublime. I want to see blogs have a positive social impact in our country. With the elections 2 years away, we might just see blogging and bloggers take a more active political role as well — shaping opinion and helping us make our choices. So, to those unfortunate Pacific Plan folks, I salute you. Mabuhay kayo!

iBlog - The First Philippine Blogging Summit

The U.P. Law Internet & Society Program will be hosting the first Philippine blogging summit entitled “iBlog” on May 7, 2005 at the UP NISMED, UP Campus.  This is a FREE event but registration at the iBlog website is required. There will be a whole-day conference featuring CICT Commissioner Dondi Mapa, The Sassy Lawyer, Yugatech, Dean Alfar,  the PCIJ Bloggers and many more.   More details about the event will be posted at the iBlog website.

PAGCOR and the fate of SMS Gambling

As reported here earlier, PAGCOR was asking the NTC for the assignment of SMS access codes. Well, the Inquirer reports that PAGCOR wants the access codes merely to monitor games of chance, not to operate them. PAGCOR insists that games of chance will be offered by third party content providers.

I don’t believe them. Here’s why: (more…)

Do we really need a DICT?

Inq7 reports that the the proposed bill creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) might not pass through the Senate as smoothly as in the House.  For me, the reasons so far given for a DICT are flimsy, at best.  But ICT proponents Sens. Mar Roxas and Jun Magsaysay have raised governance issues relating to the proposed department. They would prefer a more “democratized approach” in the government’s policy towards ICT. I don’t understand what they mean exactly. But I think they’ve been observing the manner in which the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) has addressed various issues involving ICT. (more…)

Congrats to UP Law Class of 2004

My alma mater, the UP College of Law, dominated the Top Ten in the 2004 Bar Exams with four placers including the two (2) top slots for January Sanchez and Ronald De Vera.  Congratulations to all our graduates!  Great job!

The 2004 Bar Exams: Results Out

According to a press release by the Supreme Court, 31.61% of law graduates who took the Bar Exams in September 2004 have passed the bar.  If I’m not mistaken, this has been the highest passing average in years.   Strangely enough, the announcement of the release was made but the list of examinees won’t be posted until 6pm tonight.  This can only mean that the examinees will spend most of today on their knees praying, biting whatever nails they have left, or pulling their hair as their agony comes to an end.  It’s not pleasant, believe me.  But the high passing average is encouraging. 

Good luck, guys!

Google AdWords and Trademark Law

Recently, Google suffered a legal setback when its motion to dismiss was denied by a California district court.  Google is being sued by American Blind and Wallpaper Factory for, among other things, trademark infringement because it permits and encourages third parties (including the competitors of American Blinds) to use the latter’s trademarks as a Google AdWord.

This is yet another indication that trademark law is granting marks owners far greater rights than that contemplated by the law.  Trademarks are protected because of their ability to direct consumers to the product that they want to purchase.  This reduces search costs and gives incentives to the trademark owner to maintain higher quality levels (or even to establish varying quality levels  — think of Toyota and Lexus).  Therefore, trademarks need only be protected if the trademark is used in a way that confuses consumers into making wrong purchases (e.g., purchasing Lifeboy instead of Lifebuoy soap).  This obviously corrupts the search process and degrades trademark protection.

For this reason, trademark owners are given a monopoly on the words that constitute their marks.  But this monopoly or exclusive use is limited only in instances where it may cause confusion in the market.  Therefore, it has been established that trademarks can only be protected within certain classes of goods (United SuperMarket does not infringe upon United Airlines).  In one case, the use of a mark by a newspaper for purposes of running a poll is also permissible.  What the courts should not tolerate is the case where the mark is being used to pass off one’s goods as being that of another.

But this isn’t what’s happening in the case of Google AdWords.  Google does not use the marks in order to confuse the market into making wrong purchases.  In fact, Google Ad Words are valuable because they provide more data that informs the consumer as to other choices in the market.  From a policy standpoint, more information in a market increases its efficiency.  So, trademark owners should not be permitted to prevent this from happening in the name of trademark protection.

Neither do Google Ad Words cause consumers to incur higher search costs. One has to come to grips with the fact that Google is an information tool which by itself lowers search costs.  In fact, in my view, Google Ad Words do not affect search costs either way.  In that sense, Google Ad Words do not impact the efficiency of a trademark system.

What it does is provide even more information that may be useful to the consumer and makes the market for the goods even more efficient.

Trademark holders (like other IP rights holders) need to understand that the exclusive rights granted to them are done so because it is in the public good.  When they exercise those rights in ways that do not promote the public good, then they make an argument for reform in the trademark system.

Supreme Court Does Not Tolerate Computer Viruses

The Supreme Court recently issued a resolution saying that a computer virus does not excuse a lawyer from filing court pleadings beyond the permitted period. The Court in this case upheld the dismissal an appeal. Here’s the Court press release in PDF or HTML. Apparently, the lawyer was supposed to file a Petition before the Court of Appeals but failed to do so within the allowed time because his computer was infected by a virus which deleted the word processing file containing the Petition. According to the rules, the lawyer could have been granted another extension if he had a “most compelling reason.” By dismissing the appeal, the Court ruled that a computer virus is not a compelling reason for failing to file the Petition in time.

We agree with the Court of Appeals that the reason stated in her second motion is not compelling. Petitioner’s counsel should have been systematic in his legal work. He should have saved the encoded petition in a diskette and have it printed. Had he followed this procedure, he would not have encountered a problem when his computer was infected by virus.

I can understand it if the Court had said that it was the duty of each lawyer to take measures to guard against viruses.  It’s quite another thing to say that lawyers are required to make back-ups of their work on a daily basis.  In effect, anything less would be considered malpractice for a lawyer.  As a practicing attorney and knowing the average technical abilities of my fellow brothers and sisters in the profession, I am confident that 99% of us do not even make regular back-ups of our data.  Still, I find myself quite happy about this development. (more…)

Are the Sins of Gen. Garcia being visited upon his children?

The Inquirer reports that Gen. Garcia and his sons have been charged with the crime of plunder which carries a life sentence. While the case against Gen. Garcia has been widely reported, I’m curious about his children’s liability.  According to the story,

He was accused of having “accumulated, amassed, and acquired ill-gotten wealth by himself and in connivance with the members of his family.”

It alleged that the general used his sons as “couriers” to transport some of the funds to the United States, where 100,000 dollars was seized from them by the US Customs Service in December 1993.

According to the Plunder Law, the crime of plunder is committed when a public officer “amasses, accumulates or acquires ill-gotten wealth.”  Family members are liable if they connive or participate in the commission of those acts. (more…)

The Constitutionality of the VoIP Guidelines

Atty. Rudy Salalima, Globe’s Senior VP and General Counsel, made an interesting remark in an INQ7 story on the VoIP draft rules issued by the NTC.

“The Constitution requires that a public utility must have a [Congressional] franchise,” he said. The NTC draft rules indicate however that prospective VoIP providers will not be required to apply for a Congressional franchise before offering the service.

So I checked the Constitution in particular Art. XII on National Economy and Patrimony and Section 11 which deals with public utilities. It reads:

Section 11. No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens; nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years. Neither shall any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires. The State shall encourage equity participation in public utilities by the general public. The participation of foreign investors in the governing body of any public utility enterprise shall be limited to their proportionate share in its capital, and all the executive and managing officers of such corporation or association must be citizens of the Philippines.

Is he correct? (more…)

Welcome to the Blogosphere, PCIJ!

I just got word that the folks at Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) have set up a blog. In my view, this is a significant development in journalism because they hope to blog about their work in a way that I hope other media outlets would. Here’s what they say:

“Inside PCIJ” hopes to be just that — a window through which readers can look into how we work. By opening up and encouraging discussion on our methods, our sources of information, and the values and motives that inform our work, we hope to promote more transparency in investigative journalism. Through this window, we aim to make ourselves more accountable to our readers and to sustain a lively conversation with them.

Welcome, PCIJ! May your participation in the blogosphere contribute to transparency in and further growth of Philippine journalism. Mabuhay kayo!

Where the NTC VoIP Guidelines will most likely fail

So, I’ve taken the time to check out the NTC’s draft rules on vocie over IP (VoIP) and it’s now clear to me that even if the telcos don’t sue in court to delay its implementation, they have other levers under the draft rules.

The draft rules declare VoIP as being a value-added service (VAS) - a term that is indirectly defined in the Public Telecoms Policy Act as an “enchanced service” not usually offered by telcos. Since that law also permits VAS providers to operate without a franchise, this means that VoIP providers need only register with the NTC. Excellent.

Here’s the rub: Section 4 of the draft rules requires the VAS provider to enter into an agreement with the telcos before offering VoIP. The agreement is intended to cover VoIP access and interconnection charges. Interestingly enough, Section 4 harks back to Exec. Order No. 59 which mandated interconnection between the Telcos and we remember what happened there. For all of EO 59’s language about mandated interconnection, the fact of the matter is that NTC did not vigorously require interconnection. I recall the Smart-Globe interconnection problem that took months (if not years) to resolve and then only with the intervention of the President. Even in cases where interconnection was established (say between PLDT and BayanTel), the service was inadequate. (more…)

Why is PAGCOR going to the NTC for SMS Gambling?

While trolling about the NTC website looking for the VoIP draft rules, I chanced upon this “Notice of Public Consultation” issued at the request of PAGCOR for the issuance of short-access codes for PAGCOR-approved games of chance.

I don’t get it. (more…)