Tibaldo: Know what not to bring when travelling abroad

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

AFTER the eventful 911 tragedy in the United States, ports of entries including our very own NAIA have intensified their security measures to a point that almost every small thing that a traveler carry are thoroughly checked and scrutinized.

In 2004, I came to know from the exchanges of correspondents by BIBAK.net group members that a Filipina who just passed her nursing course in the Philippines was immediately deported by immigration officials at a US terminal upon inspecting from her luggage pages of photocopied CGFNS reviewer whose authors are based in the US.

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That was a hard lesson learned and I do hope that whenever we travel or go on tour to other places, we shouldn’t be bringing things that are copied, imitated or spurious if we do not want to be in serious trouble. Better yet, let us not patronize or even think of acquiring something that is likely to be bogus.

Nowadays, there are media forensic experts already hired in many points of entries worldwide to prevent and discourage the bringing in of pirated DVDs, VCDs, audio CDs, software or computer programs.

In Canada, I’ve learned from an in-law that a Filipino was made to pay a fine when he was apprehended wearing an imitated signature sun glasses. The fine actually corresponded to the actual amount of the shades but of course, he didn’t get to take the real one.

Few years ago, a friend who is a retired US navy based in the US felt sorry that his relative refused to carry a DVD containing my coverage of the successful Lang-ay Festival in Bontoc for fear of a possible problem that they might encounter upon reaching a US Terminal.

Intellectual property (IP) is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized. Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.

Republic Act No. 9239 also known as the Optical Media Act of 2003 was created to evaluate the qualifications of any individual, establishment or other entity to engage in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media.

The OMB is tasked to supervise regulate, grant, or renew licenses and conduct inspections in coordination with other law enforcement agencies of the government.

This regulatory body also conducts hearings and resolves administrative cases against violators of the Act and imposes administrative sanctions including imposition of fines and penalties, confiscation of optical media, and suspension, non-renewal or cancellation of the license to operate and/or closure of establishments or entities. The Board shall have the power to issue subpoena.

Require persons, establishments and entities engaged importation, exportation, acquisition, sale or distribution of optical media, manufacturing equipment, parts and accessories and manufacturing materials used or intended for use in the mastering, manufacture or replication of optical media to keep and maintain for a period of at least five years true and complete records of all activities related to the conduct of its business. The Board may require the production of such records and samples of optical media from each mastering, manufacturing or replicating line.

Even a musical video produced by your neighbor if it uses a copyrighted song can still be subject to scrutiny and verification by the immigration authorities. If you happened to be the copyright owner or the author, then better bring any valid documentation proving your ownership.

In order therefore to have a worry free travel, always plan ahead and double check what you will be carrying with you and remember not to entertain any “padala” or favor package that you are not certain what is inside it.