NBI: No raids on individual houses over pirated software
UNVERIFIED reports regarding government’s antipiracy agents conducting raids on Internet cafés, gaming networks, and even individual residences suspected of using pirated software spread last week, prompting authorities to deny such incidents.
“We would like to emphasize that the NBI does not target individual users nor raiding individual houses. The first indicator that a raid is illegal is when these people start knocking at your front door to check on your software,” said Atty. Jose Yap, chief of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) division of the National Bureau of Investigation speaking at a press briefing presented by the Pilipinas Antipiracy Team (PAPT).
In the past couple of weeks, there were reports from various parts of the country that law enforcement officers were targeting individuals on the group’s campaign against the use of illegal software, which prompted the different heads of the Pilipinas Antipiracy team to conduct their own investigation.
“We checked these reports of so-called raids, but they turn out to be not true,” according to Atty. Nestor Mantaring, National Bureau of Investigation asst. director. “In fact, I personally investigated the report in Mindoro that NBI agents were raiding houses and Internet cafés suspected of using pirated software and they were all false leads. These all just started with text messages.”
The Pilipinas Antipiracy Team is composed of the National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board, and the Philippine National Police.
Since the PAPT crackdown began in September 16, 2005, the group has seized over 19-million worth of illegal software, both from computers loaded with unlicensed software and pirated CDs and DVDs.
As much as P9.8 billion is lost annually by the local entertainment industry from piracy, while the government loses as much as P2 billion in taxes, according to the team. However, despite the government efforts to curb piracy, some people have taken advantage of the situation by posing as raiding teams and extorting money from affected individuals.
“Again, we don’t conduct raids on individual users. Our thrust is against corporate users who we identify as those who make profit out of illegal software,” says Atty. Yap. “If this kind of raid happens to you, the first thing to do is ask for identification from the raiding team, then ask for a search warrant and/or mission order, or best, call your local police for assistance,” adds Atty. Yap.
--Jing Garcia, Manila Times
“We would like to emphasize that the NBI does not target individual users nor raiding individual houses. The first indicator that a raid is illegal is when these people start knocking at your front door to check on your software,” said Atty. Jose Yap, chief of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) division of the National Bureau of Investigation speaking at a press briefing presented by the Pilipinas Antipiracy Team (PAPT).
In the past couple of weeks, there were reports from various parts of the country that law enforcement officers were targeting individuals on the group’s campaign against the use of illegal software, which prompted the different heads of the Pilipinas Antipiracy team to conduct their own investigation.
“We checked these reports of so-called raids, but they turn out to be not true,” according to Atty. Nestor Mantaring, National Bureau of Investigation asst. director. “In fact, I personally investigated the report in Mindoro that NBI agents were raiding houses and Internet cafés suspected of using pirated software and they were all false leads. These all just started with text messages.”
The Pilipinas Antipiracy Team is composed of the National Bureau of Investigation, Optical Media Board, and the Philippine National Police.
Since the PAPT crackdown began in September 16, 2005, the group has seized over 19-million worth of illegal software, both from computers loaded with unlicensed software and pirated CDs and DVDs.
As much as P9.8 billion is lost annually by the local entertainment industry from piracy, while the government loses as much as P2 billion in taxes, according to the team. However, despite the government efforts to curb piracy, some people have taken advantage of the situation by posing as raiding teams and extorting money from affected individuals.
“Again, we don’t conduct raids on individual users. Our thrust is against corporate users who we identify as those who make profit out of illegal software,” says Atty. Yap. “If this kind of raid happens to you, the first thing to do is ask for identification from the raiding team, then ask for a search warrant and/or mission order, or best, call your local police for assistance,” adds Atty. Yap.
--Jing Garcia, Manila Times
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