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THE following is a list of events that happened in 2007 in
the information and communications technology (ICT)
industry.
Philippine
Intellectual Property (IP) Strategy
Crafted by
the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP
Philippines)—headed by director general —together with IP
generators in the visual arts, literature and design, as
well as science and technology groups, the Philippine IP
Strategy was presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
in November at the groundbreaking National Innovation
Summit, which gathered various agencies from the public
and private sectors to develop a suitable environment that
will drive innovation and spur growth among various
industries in the country.
 The
strategy, which underwent a two-year development phase,
identified the country’s major IP assets in eight major
sectors: public health; patent reform; universities and
research and development institutions; biodiversity and
genetic resources; indigenous knowledge systems and
practices, folklore and geographic indications; small- and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); copyright and other
creative industries; and capacity-building and heightened
IP enforcement.
Cristobal
was emphatic about the country having its own IP strategy.
“IP and innovation are essential to our country’s survival
and continued competitiveness. We should not be contented
as a nation importing technologies…the country needs to be
the creator, the inventor, the supplier of new
technologies in the world market.”
Road map
2010
A report
generated by the Business Processing Association of the
Philippines, or BPA/P, presented a strategic plan that
would help the local outsourcing and offshoring (O&O)
industry maximize the effectiveness of available talent
and infrastructure for the country to make a name in the
global O&O market.
 Amid
a global addressable market for the O&O industry worth
around $450 billion, the road map focuses on four broad
themes: suitable and abundant talent; operational
performance; quality infrastructure; and conducive
business environment. Oscar Sañez, BPA/P
chief executive officer, said the country’s talent pool in
the O&O services should be tapped properly so it can move
up to higher-value areas in the O&O chain, like medical
and legal transcription, software and game design and
development, and financial analysis.
The road
map aims to help the country double its share of the O&O
market by 2010 to around 10 percent, equating to about $13
billion in revenues that compare with a 5-percent share
and $3.3 billion in earnings in 2006.
New CICT
chief
There was
much speculation as to who will be the new chairman of the
Commission on Information and Communications Technology,
an interim policymaking body directly under the Office of
the President tasked to oversee the ICT initiatives of the
government, after the departure of former chairman Ramon
Sales, who took a leave of absence from the commission,
and eventually resigned, middle of this year.
 A
new head honcho was appointed in October, though he shied
away from the local IT media for a couple of weeks after
his appointment. New CICT chief Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua,
a former investment banker and scion of a family involved
in the sugar-cane business, was the youngest to head the
agency after the departure of two IT industry veterans who
preceded him in the commission, Virgilio Peña and Sales.
He is foreign-educated, with a degree in Economics from
the Wharton School in Pennsylvania and Applied Science in
Computer Science from the
School of
Engineering
and Applied Science, according to information found on the
CICT web site.
Microsoft
sued for copyright infringement
A local
school accused the local unit of global software maker
Microsoft Corp. of copyright infringement for allegedly
reproducing the school’s copyrighted materials without
consent.
Southeastern
College
said in a lawsuit that Microsoft Philippines copied and
distributed the school’s manual on how to operate the
Microsoft Office XP system, which it said it had
copyrighted so it can be used by the school’s teachers and
students. The school claimed Microsoft copied the contents
of the manual and distributed them via CDs.
The
school’s lawyer said that Southern College only consented
for a book version and said that the CD version “grossly
violates Southeastern College’s economic rights to its
intellectual property.”
In a
statement, Microsoft Philippines expressed disappointment
in the filing of the lawsuit considering that the school
has been a long-time partner of the company in its
educational initiatives, particularly “Partners in
Learning” and said that “it is purely a local matter that
does not involve Microsoft Corp.”
‘Green‘ IT
In a forum
presented by a local IT media association, environmental
activist Greenpeace told subsidiaries of multinational IT
companies to be responsible in getting back their junk
products and not rely on government efforts. It said that
a “take-back” policy, which involves computer and
electronics companies taking back old or used products for
proper disassembly, recycling—responsible disposal—is a
crucial element in its criteria of rating the
environmental friendliness of technology companies.
In its
quarterly “Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics,” the
group ranked game consoles as least environment-friendly
due to the absence of a “take-back” policy of its
manufacturers. On the other hand, it ranked Sony Ericsson,
Samsung and Sony to the top spots in having the best
“take-back” policy.
During the
same forum, representatives of IT firms like Lenovo and
IBM said they would make suggestions to their headquarters
regarding the adoption of an individual “take-back” policy
in the Philippines. On the other hand, Sun Microsystems,
together with EMC Philippines, a subsidiary of storage
solutions provider EMC Corp., said it has already
implemented energy-saving or “green” features in its
products. Separately, Cisco Systems, Inc. and IBM earlier
made announcements about their “green” initiatives,
particularly in their data centers.
Technology-wise
On the
technology side, notable news items include the launch of
the revolutionary Intel Core 2 Quad processor, which
precedes the already-powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processor,
the first to use Intel’s Hafnium-based high-k metal gate
(Hi-k) formula for the hundreds of millions of transistors
inside these processors.
The new
processor, which operates with four execution cores, was
highly anticipated because of its capability to perform
processor-intensive tasks like multimedia and gaming and
other applications simultaneously without affecting
processor performance. At the same time, it consumes less
power to operate and has lesser carbon emissions, thus
making it not only energy-efficient but also
environment-friendly.
Last month
chipmaker Intel Corp. celebrated the 60th birthday of the
transistor, which was long considered the building block
of today’s digital environment because of its presence in
various consumer electronic products.
Cybercrime-prevention
bill
Already
dwindling on the back burners of the Philippine Congress,
the IT industry has yet to see the passing of this
long-awaited piece of legislation. There is no clue yet
when the proposed law will be finally approved. Despite
supposed loopholes in the proposed law, all the IT
industry can do is hope and pray that legislators will
turn the light on at the end of the tunnel by having the
bill approved. | 
