Microsoft Received It’s First Ever Law Suit in Philippines

The law suit was given by Pasay City school, Southeastern College (SEC) vs software firm Microsoft Corp. and its local subsidiary, Microsoft Philippines, for alleged illegal distribution of copyrighted material.

The report as follows :

The case stemmed from Microsoft’s allegedly unauthorized and illegal “digital copying” and distribution of a locally developed manual on the use of Microsoft Office.

Originally titled “The SEC Microsoft Office XP Manual,” the 379-page manual was copyrighted in 2005 by SEC director Conrad Mañalac for the exclusive use of teachers and students.

in 2004, Microsoft Philippines reportedly purchased licenses to print 10,000 copies of the SEC manual, now retitled “Innovate: A Mentor’s Guide to ICT Foundation Competencies,” which was used for the company’s “Partners in Learning” program for high school teachers.

In October 2006, Microsoft distributed the manual (in PDF format) through CDs as part of its corporate giveaways during two separate events.

The distribution of PDF format is the basis of the law suit, The lawyer Estelito Mendoza said that this is a case of copyright infringement. It is also regarded as the first legal case of IP violation filed versus Microsoft in the Philippines.

This will be sensational since a giant company like Microsoft under suit by Philippine School. This only shows that in Philippines we give protection to intellectual property. ( Agree or Dis-Agree ? )

Source : Inquirer.net

Update : Yugatech shows Estelito Mendoza’s Interview