ETHICS FOR THE GEN-Y (MILLENNIALS), Copyright by Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal

April 11, 2015 was a significant moment in the cyberadvocacies of Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal. He was invited to give two separate seminar lectures for the graduating interns of the Asia Pacific College (APC), as well as undergraduate students and graduate students enrolled in several degree programs of APC.

Some of the APC students who attended Dr. Atty. Ramiscal’s first lecture

The students come from disciplines ranging from multimedia, computer engineering, tourism, information systems, forensic science and management. The combined audience for both lectures reached over two hundred students.

Part of the batch of APC students that attended Dr. Atty. Ramiscal’s first lecture

As the objective of the seminar series was to impress upon the students some values that are important as they embark on their professional lives outside of the APC (a CHED Center for IT Excellence), Dr. Ramiscal decided to apprise the students of some legal and sociological developments in the field of internet innovations and technology use.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal at the APC Conference Room with the 2 screen projectors

He gave his lectures the titles of “Gen-Y Ethics” and “Ethics for the Millennials”

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal in his second APC lecture

owing to the fact that almost all of these students were born in the 1990s when the Internet was starting its meteoric rise as a medium for communication and repository of information.

Dr. Ramiscal started his lectures by discussing the important principles of several intellectual properties (IP) that these students should know if they will work at IP driven companies or if they are going to exploit their own IP creations. Aside from expounding on the various works protected by different legal mechanisms under the IP Code, he also discussed the relevant principles under the Philippine Interior Design Act of 2012, the Civil Code, the Architecture Act of 2004, and R.A. 9150 which protects the industrial designs or layout designs or topographies of integrated circuits. Several Philippine IP controversies surrounding Flickr, a Philippine senator, the Philippine Supreme Court, the works of an indigenous community, and National Scientists, were highlighted to make the students aware of what they should not do to steer clear of IP quagmires.

APC students who graced Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s second lecture

In order to make the students understand why they should not unlawfully misappropriate the works of another, Dr. Ramiscal discussed the major philosophical theories that inform IP laws which are the utilitarian theory of incentives, the Lockean theory of labor and the commons, and the Hegelian theory of the IP as embodying the personhood of the creator, which he had expostulated on his book freely available at this site:

https://noelthecyberlawyer.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/ebook-academic-freedom-intellectual-property-and-human-rights-of-educators-in-their-digital-learning-creations-by-dr-atty-noel-guivani-ramiscal/

An important component of the lectures was Dr. Ramiscal’s exposition on different crimes that can be committed using a computing system or network. He made it very clear that even if the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 had been passed, it is not yet effective. This is due to the fact that its Implementing Rules and Regulations have not been made, released and published by the Department of Justice, and no copies of such had been deposited with the UP Office of the Administrative Register. So this law cannot be enforced against anyone, just yet. Dr. Ramiscal talked about illegal access to computing systems, illegal e-data interference, illegal e-data interception, computer Identity theft, cybersquatting, cyberlibel, cybersex, online child pornography, online voyeurism, cyberbullying, cyberharrassment and cybersuicide, with the relevant effective laws that cover them and their intersections with the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Another essential matter that he discussed is e-data privacy breaches that can lead to tragic consequences, epitomized by the murder of Amy Boyer. Unfortunately, just like the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, the Philippine law on this matter, Republic Act 10173, entitled the Data Privacy Act of 2012, is not effective, up to now, because of the non-existent Implementing Rules and Regulations covering it.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal receiving his first Certificate of Appreciation from the lovely Ms. Avon Amores

Rounding off the section on crimes and law that can be committed in the workplace and in the academic environment, was Dr. Ramiscal’s talk on sexual harassment and hazing. He recounted his successful experiences as a public and private prosecutor of sexual harassers and hazing offenders, and how these have had an impact on his advocacies.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal receiving his second Certificate from the gracious Avon Amores

Finally, Dr. Ramiscal ended his lectures with a brief reminder about the fragility and the perils that can come from establishing love relationships online. He also reminded the students of the importance of Self-Forgiveness and Self-Acceptance, and learning how to value and stand up for themselves and for others and for what they believe, no matter where they are.

Dr. Ramiscal would like to thank the APC’s Managing Director and Executive Director for Student Services, Ms. Teresita Medado; the Executive Director of the Graduate School, Ms. JoAnne De la Cuesta; the Executive Director of SOCSIT, Ms. Rhea-Luz Valbuena; a true pearl of an Internship Specialist, Ms. Avon Amores; and to Mr. Toti Casiño, who is one of the most dedicated persons that Dr. Ramiscal knows to the cause of IT innovations and education. Last but never the least, Dr. Ramiscal would like to extend his heartfelt gratitude to the over two hundred strong students who attended and gave him a fantastic reception. Hopefully, with value-laden students like these joining the workforce, they can serve as vanguards of the Philippines’ IT and IP driven economy. TO THEM, MAY YOU ALL RECEIVE WHAT YOU DREAM, DESIRE AND DESERVE!

A PHILIPPINE LAWYER’S REACTION TO A 2015 E-DISCOVERY STUDY IN ASIA AND WHY THE PHILIPPINES HAS TO PLAY CATCH UP (Copyright by Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal)

Asian Business Legal Magazine and FTI Consulting early this year published a study on the subject of electronic discovery of evidence which they conducted as a result of their 2013 and 2014 surveys of a handful of lawyers and law firms in Asia.

The study purportedly covered not merely the legal, but the technical and cultural facets of e-discovery. It revealed that only “(s)ixty-five individuals from corporations and law firms completed an extensive online survey, while five e-discovery experts participated in phone interviews.” There was no data revealed as to which particular Asian countries these respondents came from. It was also stated that the “(r) espondents have collected data from 15 different Asian countries (plus the United States, Europe, Latin America and Africa). It may be worth noting that this list is not topped by one of the two Common Law countries (Hong Kong and Singapore), but China, with 60% of respondents having collected there.” As far as the Philippines goes, only 7% of the 70 respondents stated that they collected data from Philippine sources.

On its face, the number of respondents to the study might be deemed too small as to be truly representative of the realities, perspectives and experiences that lawyers and law firms in Asia undergo as the e-discovery processes are set in motion. Be that as it may, Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s reaction would focus on several important issues arising from the study, with respect to their particular import to the Philippines.

THE COSTS OF E-DISCOVERY

The study delved on the huge amount of electronic data that are involved per e-discovery project which pertains to a given case. For example, “(g)iven the huge increase in email correspondence, it is not unusual for each of the parties to be required to apply data storage and key word searches to more than 200,000 separate pieces of correspondence……Indeed, a recent Bingham Tokyo case had over 500,000 separate pieces of correspondence.” The study asked the respondents their estimates of the monetary value of e-discovery for multinational companies. 29% of the respondents declared they “do not know”, while some 2 to 3 % estimated the costs to be $2.5 Million – $5 Million, and the rest laid their estimates between less than $50,000 to $1 Million.

Dr. Ramiscal gave his first lecture on the costs of electronic discovery within the Philippine context way back in May 16, 2007 for the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX).

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal receiving a plaque of appreciation from the FINEX

In his lecture entitled “Assessing the Costs and Legal Ramifications of E-Data to Your Business or Corporation” he gave specific examples of how much the discovery production costs of pertinent e-data in back-up tapes alone had set some parties back in the United States. For instance, in 2002, in Rowe Entertainment, Inc. v. William Morris Agency, Inc., the costs of e-data recovery was pegged at $9.75 million, while in Murphy Oil USA, Inc. v. Fluor Daniel, Inc., it was set at $6.2 million. These cases did not include the costs for the time of the lawyers and paralegals reviewing the data to determine which is relevant. He then gave an estimate of how much it would take to recover e-data covering thousands of emails spanning several years, using an e-discovery software with the help of an IT specialist at 2007 Philippine prices and context, for a medium sized non-multinational company.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal lecturing before the FINEX officers and members

He placed the conservative estimate of Php3 million, excluding attorney’s fees for the review of the documents for privilege or confidentiality and relevance.

The study highlighted the fact that almost one third of the respondents did not know how to estimate the costs, without giving any reason why. In his FINEX lecture, and his succeeding Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) lectures on this matter, Dr. Ramiscal delineated some of the complicated processes involved in the electronic discovery of e-data (e.g., litigation holds, preservation orders, etc.), made all the more uncertain because of the non-existent rules, then and now, from the Philippine Supreme Court that deal precisely with the legal and proper way of e-discovery. Such lack of proper rules and awareness of e-discovery techniques in the Philippines, that the Supreme Court has the duty to lay down, can certainly contribute to the lack of knowledge of Philippine lawyers as to the costs of e-discovery.

THE NON-FINANCIAL COSTS OF NOT COMPLYING WITH E-DISCOVERY

While the study stressed the fact that the scope of e-discovery is quite broad due to the prevalence of electronic evidence, what it did not dwell on is the non-financial consequences of failing to observe e-discovery procedures. This is an important lacuna in the study.

Aside from the monetary costs, Dr. Ramiscal in his FINEX Lecture and subsequent MCLE lectures had always emphasized the costs of losing one’s business and reputation arising from not observing e-discovery procedures like intentionally destroying electronic evidence pending an imminent litigation or violating an already established preservation order.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal during the Question & Answer portion of his FINEX lecture

A very clear example that he usually gives are the e-discovery infractions committed by the Arthur Andersen accounting firm with their Enron account which led to the dissolution of the firm. These are matters that many law firms, corporations, and courts in the Philippines may not even realize at this stage.

WHO BEARS THE COSTS OF E-DISCOVERY?

The study noted that a lot of e-discovery requests come from government regulators. This meant that the company under regulation is bound to comply, and implied that it will bear the costs of e-discovery.

But that is not the whole reality. When a contentious case arises before the court, for example an intellectual property case involving patents, it is expected that both parties will resort to e-discovery process. In some cases the extent of the requests may be unreasonably broad which, if followed, can lead to unnecessarily heavy financial costs. The American courts have established some sophisticated doctrines and guidelines to follow in cases like this, recognizing the fact that making one party bear the costs of e-discovery would in many cases be unfair. This is another matter that Dr. Ramiscal has continually explored in his lectures for the MCLE seminars he has been invited to by the UP IAJ and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines tackling electronic evidence and electronic discovery.

The study could have been more relevant had it tackled this very particular nitty gritty aspect of e-discovery that involves both clients and their lawyers.

TRANSBORDER DATA FLOW

Finally, the study underscored the challenges concerning privacy and transborder data flows to and from jurisdictions whose privacy laws may conflict with one another. This is a very important matter, and one that is demonstrably illustrated as far as the Philippines goes.

The Philippine Legislature has passed Republic Act 10173, entitled “AN ACT PROTECTING INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL INFORMATION IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS IN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR, CREATING FOR THIS PURPOSE A NATIONAL PRIVACY COMMISSION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” in 2012. Almost three years have passed but the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this law had not been passed. The National Privacy Commission has not yet been operationalized. Meanwhile, issues confronting the data rights of Philippine citizens have arisen without any specific government directive or direction addressing these issues. In the same vein, Republic Act 10175, “AN ACT DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING FOR THE PREVENTION, INVESTIGATION, SUPPRESSION AND THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” passed in 2012 also has no IRR. This law could complement or intersect with some of the provisions of Republic Act 10173. Under the Administrative law and jurisprudence of the Philippines, without the proper publication of the IRRs of these laws in the Official Gazette or newspaper of general circulation, and proper deposit of their copies with the Office of the National Administrative Register, these laws are not effective against any entity.

CONCLUSION

The Asian Business Legal Magazine and FTI study of e-discovery’s value for the Philippines lies in being an eye opener of some of the important issues concerning e-discovery which the key players in the Philippine government, including the Philippine Supreme Court, and the pertinent executive agencies must deal with. With the electronic initiatives of the Philippine Supreme Court under Chief Justice Sereno (who is a champion of IT-enabled courts), the matter concerning e-discovery of e-data deserves to be duly and timely addressed, especially since the establishment of Philippine Cybercrime courts under Republic Act 10175 had not yet been actualized due to the non-passage of the law’s IRR.

Cite: Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal, A PHILIPPINE LAWYER’S REACTION TO A 2015 E-DISCOVERY STUDY IN ASIA AND WHY THE PHILIPPINES HAS TO PLAY CATCH UP, (URL), (date of access)

ON BITCOIN: THE ADVENT OR DEMISE OF A STATELESS CRYPTOMONEY? (Copyright by Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal)

With the establishment of peer to peer networks, the possibility of sharing and procuring information, music and other types of e-data over virtual networks had and continues to be explored by netizens. It should come as no surprise that the concept of “making” money online without the backing of a central authority, via supposedly secured cryptosystems, would be launched and established.

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal started discussing the virtual currency “Bitcoin” way back in 2013 as part of his Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) lectures on e-data and e-evidence, with the latest being last January 23, 2015. It is not the only virtual currency in existence, but it is the one that is the subject of much controversy.

As a concept, it was attributed to a white paper authored by an entity that went by the alias “Satoshi Nakamoto” and e-published for the “Cryptography Mailing List” in 2008. Simply put, it is an open-source payment system driven by the Bitcoin currency which is in turn driven by cryptology that is reliant on mathematics. How does one earn such currency? Per a given transaction, one has to harness or mine the sheer computational powers of a computing system to solve a mathematical problem which encrypts the pending transaction. This is done by a process called hashing which verifies or confirms the transaction. The verified transaction is time-stamped by the network and it becomes part of a “block” or a chain of blocks in the network, which are comprised of logs of transactions that had been verified, which are known as “proof of work”. The network maintains a public master transaction log which indefinitely stores and publishes these block chains to all the users who are, in turn, given access to the details of this log. The number of bitcoins issued to the miner depends on a predefined formula and the inbuilt system limitation of 21 million coins. Once the miner successfully mines a bitcoin, a private key is sent to the e-wallet of the miner which may be inside his/her computer or located in a remote server. This private key is meant only for the miner and must not be shared to anyone for it constitutes a cryptographic signature unique to the miner that proves his/her identity and allows for the miner to spend the Bitcoin. The price per Bitcoin fluctuates from as low as $2 to as high as $699. Each day brings in a new rate and foreseen and unforeseen risks [see Joseph Burleson, Bitcoin: The Legal Implications Of A Novel Currency, 33 Rev. Banking & Fin. L. 99 (2013); Omri Marian, Are Cryptocurrencies Super Tax Havens?, 112 MILRFI 38 (2013); and Cara R. Baros, Barter, Bearer, And Bitcoin: The Likely Future Of Stateless Virtual Money, 23 UMIABLR 201 (2014)].

The operation of a cryptocurrency without any regulation of a State body is cause enough for some governments to scramble for ways to penetrate or put some semblance of control over the end result of the activities of the miners themselves. So Germany came out with the solution of taxing the bitcoins of its residents in the form of capital gains tax. Canada imposes a barter tax if miners exchange bitcoins for goods without any cash, and those who buy bitcoins at trading exchanges are imposed a tax. In the U.S.A. there is a judicial pronouncement that bitcoins are investment contracts which can be treated as securities.

The bitcoin enterprise has also been associated with criminal activities ranging from money laundering, to the trade of bitcoins for fake passports, stolen social security cards, illegal drugs and illegal services, which the infamous online Silk Road bazaar epitomized.

But probably the most potent threat to its future existence is from within. Being an open source system, it is also vulnerable to cracker attacks. Last year, Mt. Gox, the most popular bitcoin exchange crashed amid speculations and findings of hacking, fraud and embezzlement. It is uncertain whether it could ever recover.

It remains to be seen if this type of cryptocurrency will be embraced by Philippine investors. There are several websites operating as bitcoin exchanges or trading sites in the Philippines, accepting ATM remittances and bank cash deposits. The trading here is most certainly not insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation nor regulated by the Philippine Securities Exchange Commission. It would do well for the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Department of Justice to earnestly study this matter. Considering the risks involved, it will probably be better to invest one’s hard earned currency in something less risky. At this stage, let us face it, if one does not have any bitcoin, there is no reason or necessity to acquire one.

Cite: Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal, ON BITCOIN: THE ADVENT OR DEMISE OF A STATELESS WIKIMONEY?, (URL), (date of access)

Article on “FASHION LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES”

Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal has debuted his new website on his advocacy on “Fashion Law”, with the first article: FASHION LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES, at his new blogsite on Fashion, Gems and the Law! It can be accessed at this URL:

https://noelthefashiongemlawyer.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/fashion-law-in-the-philippines-copyright-by-dr-atty-noel-g-ramiscal/

Article on “DIAMOND: A COMMON ROCK IN SOME OF THE MOST VIOLENT PLACES”

Read up on Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s article: DIAMOND: A COMMON ROCK IN SOME OF THE MOST VIOLENT PLACES, at his new blogsite on Fashion, Gems and the Law! It can be accessed here:

https://noelthefashiongemlawyer.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/diamond-a-common-rock-in-some-of-the-most-violent-places-copyright-by-dr-atty-noel-g-ramiscal/

Article on “HERKIMER DIAMONDS: A NEW GEM FOR THE NEW AGE”

If you are looking for a natural alternative gem for diamonds, read up on Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s article: HERKIMER DIAMONDS: A NEW GEM FOR THE NEW AGE, at his new blogsite on Fashion, Gems and the Law! It can be accessed here:

https://noelthefashiongemlawyer.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/herkimer-diamonds-a-new-gem-for-the-new-age-copyright-by-dr-atty-noel-g-ramiscal/

Article on ANYOLITE: A CONTEMPORARY BIRTH GEM FOR ARIES

Read up on Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s article: ANYOLITE: A CONTEMPORARY BIRTH GEM FOR ARIES, at his new blogsite on Fashion, Gems and Law! It can be accessed here:

https://noelthefashiongemlawyer.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/anyolite-a-contemporary-birth-gem-for-aries-copyright-by-dr-atty-noel-g-ramiscal/

On CAD 3D Printed Guns, Livers, Dresses???

Read up on Dr. Atty. Noel G. Ramiscal’s article on: COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN (CAD) 3D PRINTED GUNS, LIVERS, DRESSES, ANYONE? at his new blogsite on Fashion, Gems and Law. It can be accessed here:

https://noelthefashiongemlawyer.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/computer-aided-design-cad-3d-printed-guns-livers-dresses-anyone-copyright-by-dr-atty-noel-g-ramiscal/