Module TitlePhilippine IT and Related Laws

Objective

To be knowledgeable about Philippine IT and Related Laws

Revised Penal Code

DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CODE

Time when the Act takes effect – The code shall take effect on the first day of January,

nineteen hundred and thirty-two.

Application of its provisions. — Except as provided in the treaties and laws of

preferential application, the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not only within

the Philippine Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters and

maritime zone, but also outside of its jurisdiction, against those who:

 1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine

ship or airship 2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency

note of the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands; Chan robles virtual law library

3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the obligations and securities mentioned in the presiding number;

4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their functions; or

5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations,

Felonies

Criminal liability. — Criminal liability shall be incurred:

1. By any person committing a felony (delito) although the wrongful act done be different from that which he intended.

2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against persons or property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or an account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means

Special Criminal Laws

Apart from the crimes penalized in the Revised Penal Code, several other pieces of criminal legislation have been passed, penalizing acts such as illegal possession and trafficking of dangerous drugs, money laundering, and illegal possession of firearms. These laws are called “Special Penal Laws” and they form part of Philippine Criminal Laws.

Violations of the crimes listed in the Revised Penal Code are referred to as mala in se, which literally means, that the act is inherently evil or bad or wrongful in itself. On the other hand, violations of Special Penal Laws are generally referred to as malum prohibitum or an act that is wrong because it is prohibited.

INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY

The Internet is an international network and there are currently no international laws regulating pornography

 The availability of Pornography in the internet

is available in different formats. These range from pictures and short animated movies, to sound files and stories. Most of this kind of pornographic content is available Through (“WWW or World Wide Web” ) pages.

Child Pornography

The main concern of parents and Legislators in relation to the internet is

child Pornography; Child

pornography is pornography that exploits 

children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement

or sexual assault of a child.

Laws regarding child pornography generally include sexual images involving prepubescents, prepubescent is a person who has not yet reached puberty, pubescent or post-pubescent minors and computer-generated images that appear to involve them. Most possessors of child pornography who are arrested are found to possess images of prepubescent children

The NCMEC estimated in 2003 that 20 percent of all pornography traded over the Internet was child pornography, and that since 1997 the number of child pornography images available on the Internet had increased by 1500 percent. 

Much of the trade in child pornography takes place at hidden levels of the Internet. It has been estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 pedophiles are involved in organized pornography rings around the world. Digital cameras and Internet distribution facilitated by the use of credit cards and the ease of transferring images across national borders has made it easier than ever before for users of child pornography to obtain the photographs and videos.

The Unfair Competition Act

Sport

Unfair competition may occur in games if a participant in some way deviates from the rules of the game, or has privileged access to important information or resources that should in principle be available to all participants in the game, or none of them. Participation in the game normally assumes that participants have an equal ability to compete in relevant respects, or are able to acquire it during the game.

Cooperation

Sometimes unfair competition is also interpreted to mean that the existence of competition as such is unfair or unjust. The argument is then that there should not be any competition. In this case, the alternative to unfair competition is not fair competition, but no competition or cooperation.

Commercial Law

Unfair competition in commercial law refers to a number of areas of law involving acts by one competitor or group of competitors which harm another in the field, and which may give riseto criminal offenses and civil causes of action. The most common actions falling under the banner of unfair competition include:

Antitrust violations constituting unfair competition occur when one competitor attempts to force others out of the market (or prevent others from entering the market) through tactics such as predatory pricing or obtaining exclusive purchase rights to raw materials needed to make a competing product.

Trademark infringement, which occur when the maker of a product uses a name, logo, or other identifying characteristics to deceive consumers into thinking that they are buying the product of a competitor.

Misappropriation of trade secrets, which occurs when one competitor uses espionage, bribery, or outright theft to obtain economically advantageous information in the possession of another.

Trade libel, the spreading of false information about the quality or characteristics of a competitor's products, is prohibited at common law.

Tortious interference, which occurs when one competitor convinces a party having a relationship with another competitor to breach a contract with, or duty to, the other competitor is also prohibited at common law.