COPYRIGHT Q. Aguilar organized the Rural Bank of San Andres. He copied the forms of the contracts which the lawyer of the Rural Bank of San Carlos prepared. The lawyer sued him for infringement of copyright. Will the action prosper?A: No. There is no infringement in the copying of basic forms which are used in a widespread manner throughout a given field of industry. (Jack said this orally in class).Q. Abad made a design for Christmas décor. Benitez used it to make the Christmas décor without the consent of Abad. Abad sued him for infringement of copyright. Benitez argued that the design could not be copyrighted. Is he right?A: No, designs can be copyrighted. “172.1 Literary and artistic works, hereinafter referred to as "works", are original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain protected from the moment of their creation and shall include in particular”

Note also: “An infringement takes place when the use of a protected work of a copyright owner goes beyond the limitations, to include fair use provisions that are outlined in the law.” Further, “In cases of infringement, copying alone is not what is prohibited. The copying must produce injurious effects. Here, the injury consists in that respondent lifted from petitioners book materials that were the result of the latter’s s research work and compilation and misrepresented them as her own. She circulated the book DEP for commercial use and did not acknowledge petitioners as her source.” (Habana v. Robles)

Note: The facts are vague, but it appears that he made the decor for his own use. That is not covered. But if he sold the copied design, and hence it would be covered. But Jack’s question is ambiguous. BANK SECRECYQ. Nepomuceno Realty, Inc. obtained a loan from Oriental Banking Corporation. The proceeds of the loan were deposited in the current account of Nepomuceno Realty Inc., and a portion of the amount was disbursed. Ocampo a minority stockholder of Nepomuceno Realty Inc. claimed that the signatures in the promissory note signed by Nepomuceno Realty Inc. were forged and filed a derivative suit. He subpoenaed the records of the current account of Nepomuceno Realty Inc. The directors moved to quash the subpoena on the basis of the secrecy of Bank deposits.A: This is incorrect. As a rule bank secrecy will not prevail when the subject matter of the litigation is the money in question. In this case, the money which was the subject of the fraud is the very subject of the case. (Mellon Bank vs. Magsino)“Inasmuch as Civil Case No. 26899 is aimed at recovering the amount converted by the Javiers for their own benefit, necessarily, an inquiry into the whereabouts of the illegally acquired amount extends to whatever is concealed by being held or recorded in the name of persons other than the one responsible for the illegal acquisition. “Q. During a cabinet meeting, the President gave clearance to the military to torture insurgent groups. Abad was one of those who were tortured. A person who was present during the cabinet meeting disclosed that the President authorized the use of torture. Upon the complaint of Abad, the House of Representatives filed an impeachment case

against the President. Because Abad wanted to recover damages, the prosecutors asked that a subpoena be issued for the peso bank accounts of the President. Can the request be granted?A: No. The request is not made in connection of an impeachment offense, but merely by a private citizen seeking damages. (Note: the impeachment is based on torture, not on an impeachable ground based on money). Note: Torture is a violation of the Human Security Act, but NOT an act defined as the crime of ‘terrorism’ under the law. Torture =/= Terrorism. Nevertheless, it is punishable under the law when the government performs it.Note further: RA 10168 -“SEC. 10. Authority to Investigate Financing of Terrorism. – The AMLC, either upon its own initiative or at the request of the ATC, is hereby authorized to investigate: (a) any property or funds that are in any way related to financing of terrorism or acts of terrorism; (b) property or funds of any person or persons in relation to whom there is probable cause to believe that such person or persons are committing or attempting or conspiring to commit, or participating in or facilitating the financing of terrorism or acts of terrorism as defined herein.”AMLA1. Aguilar made counterfeit softwares of computer games, which he then sold to video stores. He deposited the proceeds from the sale in his bank account. Can he be held liable for violating the Anti-Money Laundering Law?A: No. The liability for AMLA is on the Bank’s Officers and Employees, not the criminal who created money to launder.Alternative: Yes. He is performing a transaction: "Transaction" refers to any act establishing any right or obligation or giving rise to any contractual or legal relationship between the parties thereto. It also includes any movement of funds by any means with a covered institution.

SEC. 4. Money Laundering Offense. – Money laundering is a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity are transacted, thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources. It is committed by the following:(a) Any person knowing that any monetary instrument or property represents, involves, or relates to, the proceeds of any unlawful activity, transacts or attempts to transact said monetary instrument or property.

Note: What if it is Trillanes (or any other non-bank employee) who reveals Rodrigo’s bank info? Not liable for violation of Bank Secrecy.  Instead he can be held liable for violation of right to privacy under the Civil Code, Article 26 (1). Source: Jack Transcript.

Finals

Q. Abad Inc. had a current account with Asian Bank. Benitez, the treasurer, was authorized to sign checks in its behalf. He issued check payable to himself and deposited it in a savings account he opened in Asian bank. When Abad Inc. asked

why there was a discrepancy with his own records regarding the balance of its own account, the branch manager informed it of what Benitez had done. Benitez argued that this violated RA 1405 (Bank Confidentiality and Secrecy). Is he right?

A: No. The subject of the case is the very money itself.

Alternative: The bank secrecy law was not created to perpetuate injustice. See white pedophile foreigner rapist case. “In fine, the application of the law depends on the extent of its justice. Eventually, if we rule that the questioned Section 113 of Central Bank Circular No. 960 which exempts from attachment, garnishment, or any other order or process of any court, legislative body, government agency or any administrative body whatsoever, is applicable to a foreign transient, injustice would result especially to a citizen aggrieved by a foreign guest like accused Greg Bartelli.” (Salvacion vs. Northcott)

Other Quiz

Q. Aguilar established a factory to manufacture motorcycles. He was selling them for 20,000 pesos under the trademark Hundai. Hyundai Motors, which manufactured cars, sued him for infringement of its registered trademark Hyundai. (Ehem Patrick) Will it prosper?

A: Yes. It will cause confusion of business. Further, it will lead the general public to believe that Hyundai (a car maker) is engaged in a similar and related business (motorcycles). (See CLV Book).

Detailed Explanation:

“A crucial issue in any trademark infringement case is the likelihood of confusion, mistake or deceit as to the identity, source or origin of the goods or identity of the business as a consequence of using a certain mark. Likelihood of confusion is admittedly a relative term, to be determined rigidly according to the particular (and sometimes peculiar) circumstances of each case. Thus, in trademark cases, more than in other kinds of litigation, precedents must be studied in the light of each particular case.

There are two types of confusion in trademark infringement. The first is "confusion of goods" when an otherwise prudent purchaser is induced to purchase one product in the belief that he is purchasing another, in which case defendant’s goods are then bought as the plaintiff’s and its poor quality reflects badly on the plaintiff’s reputation. The other is "confusion of business" wherein the goods of the parties are different but the defendant’s product can reasonably (though mistakenly) be assumed to originate from the plaintiff, thus deceiving the public into believing that there is some connection between the plaintiff and defendant which, in fact, does not exist.” (Mighty Corporation vs. Gallo Winery)