Friday, March 28, 2008 Optical Media Board conducts spot checks
THE Optical Media Board (OMB) on Thursday conducted spot checks in 20 Internet cafes operating within Davao City's downtown area as part of its crackdown on piracy particularly in computer software.
The establishments that were inspected were issued an inspection order to comply with lawful requirements such as the presentation of individual installer disks for each computer unit or a copy of their software license if these were purchased in bulk.
A 30-day timeframe was given to Internet cafe operators to comply with the requirements otherwise the OMB will pull out the units and destroy them.
Lawyer Rosendo Meneses, OMB executive director, clarified that Thursday's operation was not a raid but a routine inspection.
"So far, those we have inspected had no violations," Meneses said.
OMB also met with Internet cafe operators and the Internet Cafe Association of Davao (ICAD) Thursday afternoon to discuss the prospects of an accreditation program.
"They will register with us so that monitoring can be easy. We will accredit them and give them materials they can post outside the establishment so that the public will know they are using authentic software," Meneses said.
Icad vice president Yvonne Cabada, on the other hand, said the association welcomes OMB's move.
"Mas maganda na itong makita talaga nila kung sino ang compliant sa mga requirements para naman parehas sa lahat," Cabada said. (This is good because it will show which establishments have complied with the requirements.)
Icad police its own ranks and conducts spot checks to make sure that its 70 members are using licensed software and complying with the provisions of the city's Internet Cafe Ordinance.
However, Icad's power is only limited to its members -- a relatively small percentage of about 200 Internet cafes in the city.
As for their drive against pirated DVDs, Meneses said they had four convictions in Davao City last year. These were the cases of DVDs from Indonesia that were seized through a joint effort with the Bureau of Customs. He added that Davao City is one of the main entry points of counterfeit DVDs due to its proximity to the source points.
"We are now concentrating on the sources of these materials. Chartered planes are closely monitored kasi dito na naman daw nila kinakarga yung (because they bring to this city) DVDs from Malaysia and Indonesia," he said.
Meneses said that despite the absence of an office in the city, spot checks will be conducted by partner agencies.
OMB also inspected the computer laboratories of three schools Thursday namely, The Holy Child School of Davao, John Paul II College of Davao, and Holy Cross of Davao College.
Next on OMB's list are big business establishments. (GLP)
