INFORMATION CONTROL walking back and forth, which

obviously were not part of the

With so much information
film.
around, how do you make sure
they are safe from illegal In the end, you decided
activities? A large to download a torrent file of
requirement for information the film, hoping for a better
control comes from commerce, quality, only to discover that
industry, and copyright owners it was the same pirated video
in general. Information you saw in the pirated DVD.
control comes in the form of
According to The Software
keeping secrets inside a
Alliance (www.bsa.org) (2018),
business or selling IPR
software piracy is “the
(Intellectual Property Rights)
unauthorized copying or
to those prepared to purchase
distribution of copyrighted
it.
software… can be done through
Information control is copying, downloading, sharing,
about allowing those who have selling or installing multiple
appropriate authority access copies of software onto
to and use of information on personal or work computers.”
the basis of the authority Most software has licenses,
that they hold. But why is such as activation keys, that
there a need for control in are normally identified with
the first place? Earlier in just one computer. Having a
this chapter, the concept of pirated software means trying
information being non- to use the same key for
rivalrous and non-exclusive several computers. Some people
has been discussed. An example upload software onto a website
is movies being sold in so others can download it, as
different formats- DVDS, MP4, is the case of using torrent
etc. If that is the case, how to upload/download a movie.
can you make sure that the
Examples of software
said movie will not be
piracy as identified by The
distributed illegally?
Software Alliance (2018)
include:
Software Piracy • Distributing software or
mobile apps from the internet
Let’s say you wanted to
in a manner that violates the
watch the latest movie showing
license terms
in the cinemas. However, you
decided to save the money • Buying a single copy of a
instead, so you bought a software program and
pirated DVD copy of the film installing it on multiple
in one of the market places devices without authorization
you passed by on your way
• Making and/or sharing copies
home. Upon watching it, cinema
of installation CDs
and you can hear the audience
laughing, and see shadows you • Sharing the login
noticed the film was taken by credentials (without
a video camera inside the authorization) used to access
a web-based software
application (“Software as a
Service”)
Some might say, “I paid
for the software already,
shouldn’t that be mine to use
and distribute wherever and
whenever I want to?” As with
the discussion earlier this
chapter regarding information
having zero-marginal cost,
buying a DVD copy of a movie
costing 10 dollars, does not
mean buying the movie itself.
Thus, paying for the movie
does not mean you are buying
the actual movie, but paying
for the license to watch it
for personal use. So just
because a person bought an
original DVD of the movie does
not mean that he or she can
create copies and distribute
it or share it online.
This typical scenario
boils down to the fact that
information is difficult to
control. While measures are in
place, such as DVD region
codes and such, Adam Thierer
in 2011, identified four
issues which further
complicate the problem on
information control: (1)
convergence, (2) scale, (3)
volume, and (4) unprecedented
individual empowerment/user-
generation of content.
1. Convergence
Technological
advancements and social media
have paved the way for media
content such as music and
movies to be distributed from
their “traditional”
distribution platforms. What
consumers used to buy in the
form of CDs or DVDs, media
content can now be searched,
accessed, and consumed using
multiple devices and even
through different distribution
networks. One such example is
Spotify. Consumers before
would buy physical albums in
the form of CDs, then later
transitioned to digital copies
typically bought via iTunes
Store for Apple. However, with
social media having a big
effect on song reviews and
recommendations, a mobile app
such as Spotify is able to
create playlists which can be
listened to, and if wanted,
downloaded for a fee. As a
result, it is now possible to
disseminate, find, or consume
the same content/ information
via multiple devices or
distribution networks. This
convergence of devices and
networks, according to Thierer
(2011), has created issues
instead of maintaining an
effective information control
policy.
Another such example is
an application called VideoFX
which is available in Google
Play. According to the app
description, you can “create
amazing lip sync music videos
with special effects and your
choice of music. Simply select
a music track and start lip
syncing! Make videos that
you’ll be proud to share with
your friends!” In one mobile
device, you can take a video,
select a saved music file, and
send it to a social media
platform such as Facebook or
Twitter. The issue here is,
what if the music used is
copyrighted?
2. Scale 3. Volume
For those who like to Nowadays, news and media
watch Japanese animé and outlets abound in print and
Korean dramas, English online. News agencies such as
subtitles are a must. Before, Manila Bulletin or The
fans would wait days or weeks Philippine Star have not only
before the subtitles become print copies of their news
available for viewing. This is (i.e., newspapers) but also
because the subtitles are digital copies which can be
actually translated, edited, accessed through their
and embedded by fans of the websites mb.com.ph and
show, most of whom are not www.philstar.com,
professionals. Majority of respectively. Broadcasting
them are students and young companies such as ABS-CBN and
adults who simply like GMA7 also have television
watching the series. broadcasts, radio broadcasts,
TV radios, and news websites,
With technology and fast
most of which have the same
internet connectivity, viewers
content. This development can
no longer need to wait days to
be attributed to the
watch the foreign shows with
increasing volume of media
English subtitles. Oftentimes,
content and communications
the subtitles are ready within
activities happening across
a few hours after the show has
the world, greatly
been aired in its local
complicating government
country. This is because the
regulatory efforts to control
internet has given everyone
information.
access to anything they would
like to search, upload, and
download anywhere in the
4. Unprecedented individual
world. Technology such as
empowerment
Google Translate has also
helped make translation of The popularity of social
these shows much faster. media such as Facebook,
Concerns regarding copyright Twitter, and Instagram has
have greatly increased because made it possible for
of this. But while some individuals to post anything
countries such as China and they want. This also includes
North Korea impose certain creation of blogs which have
restrictions on what their become mainstream media for
citizens can and cannot access individuals to showcase their
online, Thierer (2011) talents, skills, and hobbies.
mentions that “the scale of This creates issues when it
modern digital speech and comes to content restriction
content dissemination [still] as most people are doing this
greatly complicates government using their private accounts.
efforts to control information Unless reported, the said
flows.” content will be difficult to
control.
 So how do we control
information dissemination?
Organizations, such as The
Software Alliance, software
industries such as Microsoft
and IBM, as well as government
entities in countries across
the globe, are working hand in
hand to solve the issue of
software piracy. One solution
they have come up with is
identifying exclusive rights
to information, as with any
given physical asset. This has
led to the identification of
intellectual property rights.
IP is any creation or
product of the human mind and
may be expressed in the form
of original ideas,
expressions, and processes.
Intellectual property rights
(IPR) are the rights given to
persons over their creations.
They usually give the creator
an exclusive right over the
use of his or her creation for
a certain period of time.
According to the Intellectual
Property Code of the
Philippines (Republic Act No.
8293 s. 1998), IPR consists of
the following:

1. Copyright and related

Intellectual Property (IP)
rights
Intellectual property
2. Trademarks and service
(IP) refers to a number of
marks
distinct types of intangible
assets for which a set of 3. Geographic indications
exclusive rights are
4. Industrial design
recognized. IP includes
musical, literary, and 5. Patents
artistic works such as Taylor
6. Layout designs
Swift’s new album, J. K.
(topographies) of Integrated
Rowling’s new book, and the
Circuits (ICs)
latest iPhone. However, IP is
not just limited to these 7. Protection of undisclosed
items. It can also include information
words, phrases, symbols, and
even designs. Are you familiar
with the following logos found The Intellectual Property
in Figure 4.6? Office of the Philippines (IP
Philippines) is the government
agency in charge of the
implementation of the law
protecting intellectual
property rights in the
Philippines as provided for
under R.A. 8293, or the
Intellectual Property Code of
the Philippines, and the
revised Intellectual Property
Code of the Philippines known
Figure 4.6 Popular logos as R.A. 10372.
Copyright and Related Rights Digital Rights Management
Copyright is a set of Digital rights management
exclusive rights granted by a (DRM) is used to describe the
state to the creator of an processes by which the author
original work or their or publisher of a work exerts
assignee for a limited period his or her rights to control
of time in exchange for public what the purchaser of the work
disclosure of the work, and is entitled to do. This
includes the right to copy, represents the control by
distribute, and adapt the which one can prevent a person
work. Copyright owners on the or an organization from
other hand, is the permission copying, printing, editing, or
can license or permanently otherwise making the
transfer or assign their privileged information
exclusive rights others. available to other people.
Digital rights, granted to
With the introduction of
individuals to legitimately
technology and the internet,
perform actions involving to
the print age is slowly
the use of a computer, any
becoming obsolete with
electronic device, or a
publishers shifting to the
communications network. It is
digital age. Before, a person
particularly related to the
needed to copy or re-print a
protection and realization of
physical book for additional
existing rights in the context
copies. With digital
of new digital technologies,
technologies, copies are made
especially the internet.
at zero cost with minimal
Copyright provides detection. And it is not just
protection for original books. Movies, music, software
expression which includes applications, etc. can now be
literary, artistic, scholarly, copied and shared faster, with
and scientific creations such less cost. With this set-up,
as books, articles, the prevalence of peer-to-peer
newspapers, lectures, letters, (P2P) and torrent sites have
musical compositions, and made information control much
paintings. It also extends to harder.
derivative works such as
While information gets to
illustrations, maps,
be disseminated faster to
photographic works,
consumers, control as to how
advertisements, computer
it is shared becomes an issue.
programs, etc.
Downloading pirated music
In the Philippines, all online does not help the music
copyrighted materials are artists as they are deprived
recorded and stored at the of the royalties they are
National Library or the entitled to. At the same time,
Supreme Court Library (R.A. getting the music for free
10372, 2013). does not mean being safe from
malicious software and hacking
attacks.
 Thus, companies and 2. Serial keys
organizations have come up
Also known as a product
with possible solutions to
key or a software key, it is a
this digital dilemma. The
series of alphanumeric
following are techniques
characters acting as a key to
designed to control access and
denote that the product or
reproduction of online
software is original. In some
information:
cases, product keys are used
for product activation. One
such example is Microsoft
1. Encryption
Windows OS. A product key is
Encryption is the process used to activate the operating
of converting data or system online. Online
information in such a way that activation helps maintain
only authorized parties can software authenticity by
understand. Its primary making sure no one else has
purpose is to protect the used the same product key.
confidentiality of digital
data stored on computer
systems or transmitted via the 3. Scrambling
internet or other computer
Data scrambling is done
networks. Encryption occurs
to hide sensitive information
every time someone uses an ATM
from unauthorized users.
or buys something online with
Scrambling is accomplished by
a smartphone, makes a mobile
the addition of components to
phone call, or presses a key
the original signal or the
fob to unlock a car. This is
changing of some important
done so that information being
component of the original
sent is kept safe and secure.
signal in order to make the
DRM systems for extraction of the original
multimedia often encrypt signal difficult. It is often
material in such a way that done with the aid of
only a particular device can encryption.
play or retrieve it, enforcing
While region coding
constraints on how it is used.
identifies which players can
DVDs use an encryption scheme
only play certain DVDs,
to prevent users from viewing
computers with DVD drives
discs on unauthorized players.
become another option for
This is the concept of region
would-be pirates. Thus, the
coding discussed earlier.
content scramble system (CSS)
Region coding prevents discs
was introduced to restrict
sold in one part of the world
access to content only for
from being used on players
licensed applications.
sold in another.
Meaning, even if the DVD was
recognized by the DVD player
in a computer, certain
applications or programs
needed to play the video might
not allow it.
4. Tag embedding Figure 4.7 Apple’s iPod

Similar to how pictures Trademark

can include watermarks to
A trademark is a
denote information on the
distinctive sign used by an
owner of the picture, tag
individual, business
embedding does the same to
organization, or other legal
information content.
entity to identify the
Watermarks are not complete
products or services to
DRM mechanisms in their own
consumers. The mark comes from
right, but are used as part of
a unique source, and it
a system for copyright
distinguishes its product
enforcement, such as helping
(trademark) or services
provide prosecution evidence
(service mark) from the
Du for legal purposes, rather
others. Rights in a mark shall
than direct technological
be acquired through
restriction.
registration made validly in
In terms of data embedded accordance with the provisions
into the actual content, the of the IP code. For marks with
use of metadata is included to geographical indications, a
identify the owner’s name, notice stating that a given
author, and date of purchase, product originates in a given
among other pertinent geographical area must be
information. identified. This is relatively
new in the Philippine IP
regime as marks are identified
based on the territory,
region, or locality
Patent attributed. In the
A patent is a set of Philippines, one of the most
exclusive rights granted by a popular trademarks based on
state to an inventor for a locality is the Pampanga’s
limited period of time in Best delicacies logo.
exchange for the public
disclosure of an invention.
The exclusive right granted to
patentee in most countries is
Protection of Undisclosed
the right to prevent others
Information
from making, using, selling,
or distributing the patented Industries and companies
invention without permission. need to have information
One example of a patented control especially in dealing
design is that of Apple’s with sensitive industry
iPod. secrets. To protect these
industry secrets, also called
trade secrets, companies
usually require employees to
sign contracts with non-
disclosure agreements (NDAs).
 Trade secret is the term Terms of Penalty
used for any method, formula, Protection
Copyright Generally, 1st offense:
device, process, or any
throughout $50,000 to
information that gives the the life of P150,000
business a unique competitive the author and/or 1-3
advantage over its plus 50 years
competition. It includes years after imprisonment
his or her
company research and
death. 2nd offense:
development information, P150,000 to
software algorithms, $500,000
inventions, designs, formulas, and/or 3-6
ingredients, and devices, years
imprisonment
among others.
Examples of popular trade 3rd and
subsequent
secrets are the formulation of
offenses:
Coca-Cola and Listerine, and P500,000 to
the recipe of Kentucky Fried $1.5M and/or
Chicken (KFC). 6-9 years
imprisonment
Table 4.2 IPR terms of Patent 20 years Not less
protection and penalties as (time- than
stated in R.A. 8293 bound) $100,000 to
not more
than
P300,000
and/or not
less than 6
months to
not more
than 3 years
imprisonment
Trademark 10 years P50,000 to
from the P200,000 and
date of 2 to 5 years
filing of imprisonment
the
application