Disini Buted Disini Law Offices

Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Our technology, media, and telecommunications practice is one of the most established and respected practices in the country. In the last twenty (20) years, we have advised clients at every stage of both large and small I.T. projects in the private sector and government both from the standpoint of providers and customers, as well as public servants and citizens. 

In 2000, we joined the successful lobbying efforts to enact the Electronic Commerce Act and our founder, JJ Disini, drafted the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations in behalf of an inter-agency panel that included the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Science and Technology and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

In 2001, JJ Disini co-drafted the Rules on Electronic Evidence, having acted as a member of the Supreme Court’s Sub-Committee on Electronic Evidence.

 Later, the Firm advised the Philippine Government in assessing requirements for compliance in the National Single Window as part of the ASEAN Economic Integration. 

Moreover, the firm has advised and assisted clients in various technology arrangements, such as drafting and negotiating software licensing arrangements, development contracts, maintenance and service agreements, and documentation for software as service contracts and other related matters.

Having been immersed in practice for years, our lawyers are well-versed in the various laws and regulations affecting novel technologies and emerging media in the Philippines. Such as those affecting mass media, online platforms, advertising, retail, and other related industries, as well as regulations relevant to FinTechs, logistics providers, payments systems, and AI.

OUR PRACTICE AREAS

• Technology, Media & Telecommunications
• Emerging Media
• Data Privacy
• Banking & Finance
• M&A, Investment and Securities
• Corporate Services
• Employment & Immigration
• Litigation
• Intellectual Property
• Real Estate
• Entertainment

Our lawyers have provided a full range of advice on Technology and Telecommunications matters, such as:

• Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements
• Government Procurement of IT Goods and Services
• IT Employment Agreements
• IT Procurement Matters
• Outsourcing Agreements
• Open Source Development
• Privacy Policies
• Reseller Agreements
• Service Level Agreements
• Software Escrow Agreements
• Software and Hardware License Agreements
• Site Terms and Conditions
• Voice-Over-IP
• Value-Added Services
• Digital Music Publishing and Licensing
• Online Book Publishing
• Social Media Marketing Campaigns
• Online News Content Creation
• Internet and Mobile Advertising
• Digital Animation
• Video-on-Demand
• Live Streaming

Some of the Firm’s TMT work include:

• Assisting an AI company that develops various AI-enabled solutions in its projects with government agencies involving the provision of software that will help the latter in the COVID-19 crisis
• Drafting terms of use and contracts for a lending platform, including those between the platform participants.
• Advising the implementation of a fully digital workflow for a client’s credit arrangements with its customers.
• Drafting and reviewing proof-of-concept arrangements between the client and various financial institutions. The contracts involved the sale of credit scores produced by the client’s proprietary systems.
• The roll-out of an AI-enabled customer service product for fast food chains
• Preparation of EULAs for various AI products
• Preparation of various contracts to document the partnership of the client with other incubators and accelerators in different jurisdictions across the globe. These partnerships allow the startups from different countries to gain access to resources and partners in other countries.
• Preparing the contracts necessary for an offshore software services company, that is part of the client’s group companies, to provide software-as-a-service solutions to other entities.
• Advising on the liabilities of platforms regarding merchants that are not organized businesses/unregistered businesses
• Advising on the necessary documentation for the client’s platform which will be used by various brokers, and preparing the terms and conditions and privacy policies necessary to protect the platform.
• Advising an emerging social media platform and the top mobile application in the Philippines in the cross border restructuring of their group entities
• Advising on the responsibilities and liabilities of an operator of content moderation services arising from potential harm suffered by its employees due to online content
• Advising on the application of regulations on promotional activities and solicitations to social media platforms, which merely allow users to submit content

Employment & Immigration

The firm has experience providing advice to traditional, unique, and innovative workplace environments. We work closely with our clients in designing employment arrangements and policies that manage their legal risk and avoid workplace problems.

We advise clients from hiring, right until the termination of employment, workforce structuring, OHS compliance, and defend clients in case of disputes. We strive to create options for successful out-of-court resolutions, and if necessary, we represent our clients in all stages from administrative labor tribunals to the Supreme Court.

Our lawyers provide a full range of advice on Employment and Immigration matters, including:

• Employment Contracts
• Independent Contractors
• Probationary Employment
• Regular Employees
• Contractual Arrangements
• Dismissal Procedures
• Workplace Discipline
• Employment Policies

Some of the recent projects and work in Labor and Employment of the Firm are:

• Advising the Philippines’ leading Telecoms provisioning, repair, and maintenance contractor who is a dedicated partner of a major telecommunications company in the Philippines on all employment matters, from hiring, termination, and Occupational Health & Safety and DO-174 (Independent Contracting) compliance. 
• Defending a US-based Innovative medical technology company that uses technology to help service providers and end-users find each other and transact directly. 
• Assisting an Israel-based law firm in advising a digital content and social engagement platform with operations in the Philippines, New York and Israel on applicable Occupational Health & Safety regulations for moderators of the end-client reviewing possibly traumatic and harmful content. 
• Preparing the internal Code of Conduct for a public-private partnership supporting the Philippine startup community to conform with the requirements imposed by the grants/funders of the entity. 
• Defending a company operating the largest integrated resort of its kind in Asia and the second-largest casino in the world from claims of an employee for violation of the rules on the recruitment and employment of land-based Filipino overseas workers when the employee was allegedly transferred job sites. 
• Preparing the retirement plan and advised an international school in Manila in understanding the implications of its current interpretation of the existing policy. 
• Advising several clients on the impacts of their labor-related Covid-19 responses.
• Defended workers of a business process outsourcing company in labor-only contracting claims against their employer and the offshore customer.
• Successfully defended a client declared by the Secretary of Labor and Employment as an independent contractor while all other contractors of a major telecommunications company were deemed labor-only contractors. The result was largely due to the Firm’s advice and comprehensive compliance work. 

Employment & Immigration

The firm has experience providing advice to traditional, unique, and innovative workplace environments. We work closely with our clients in designing employment arrangements and policies that manage their legal risk and avoid workplace problems.

We advise clients from hiring, right until the termination of employment, workforce structuring, OHS compliance, and defend clients in case of disputes. We strive to create options for successful out-of-court resolutions, and if necessary, we represent our clients in all stages from administrative labor tribunals to the Supreme Court.

Our lawyers provide a full range of advice on Employment and Immigration matters, including:

• Employment Contracts
• Independent Contractors
• Probationary Employment
• Regular Employees
• Contractual Arrangements
• Dismissal Procedures
• Workplace Discipline
• Employment Policies

Some of the recent projects and work in Labor and Employment of the Firm are:

• Advising the Philippines’ leading Telecoms provisioning, repair, and maintenance contractor who is a dedicated partner of a major telecommunications company in the Philippines on all employment matters, from hiring, termination, and Occupational Health & Safety and DO-174 (Independent Contracting) compliance.
• Defending a US-based Innovative medical technology company that uses technology to help service providers and end-users find each other and transact directly.
• Assisting an Israel-based law firm in advising a digital content and social engagement platform with operations in the Philippines, New York and Israel on applicable Occupational Health & Safety regulations for moderators of the end-client reviewing possibly traumatic and harmful content.
• Preparing the internal Code of Conduct for a public-private partnership supporting the Philippine startup community to conform with the requirements imposed by the grants/funders of the entity.
• Defending a company operating the largest integrated resort of its kind in Asia and the second-largest casino in the world from claims of an employee for violation of the rules on the recruitment and employment of land-based Filipino overseas workers when the employee was allegedly transferred job sites.
• Preparing the retirement plan and advised an international school in Manila in understanding the implications of its current interpretation of the existing policy.
• Advising several clients on the impacts of their labor-related Covid-19 responses.
• Defended workers of a business process outsourcing company in labor-only contracting claims against their employer and the offshore customer.
• Successfully defended a client declared by the Secretary of Labor and Employment as an independent contractor while all other contractors of a major telecommunications company were deemed labor-only contractors. The result was largely due to the Firm’s advice and comprehensive compliance work.

Litigation

The firm has expertise in all manners of disputes, whether criminal, civil, or administrative, with a focus on cases involving technology, such as electronic evidence. Over the past two decades, we have handled litigation and mediation for large-scale IT disputes, government procurement projects, and online platforms. And have prosecuted and defended clients against cybercrimes 

Our lawyers have a wide range of experience in litigation matters, including:

• Cybercrime Defense and Prosecution
• Debt Collection
• Fraud
• Criminal Defense and Prosecution
• Contract Breach and Enforcement
• Property and Real Estate
• Public Interest Litigation
• Electronic Evidence Presentation and Admissibility
• Real Estate and Land Title Authenticity
• Constitutional Issues
• Discovery Procedures
• Intra-corporate disputes

Some of the recent projects and work in Litigation include:

• Acting as both prosecution and defense in cybercrime cases, including hacking, cyber libel, computer-related fraud, and system interference
• Representing clients in large-scale IT procurement projects with government agencies, involving disputes on delays, bidding issues, and breach of contract
• Working closely with law enforcement to secure cybercrime warrants against perpetrators under the new cybercrime prevention act.
• Instituting cases against employees who illegally access or delete sensitive company information
• Filing complaints against users of online platforms who were engaged in a massive a disinformation campaign

OUR PRACTICE AREAS

• Technology, Media & Telecommunications
• Emerging Media
• Data Privacy
• Banking & Finance
• M&A, Investment and Securities
• Corporate Services
• Employment & Immigration
• Litigation
• Intellectual Property
• Real Estate
• Entertainment

• Handling cases involving real estate, including cases involving falsified titles, land grabbing campaigns, and real estate mortgages. Filed cases questioning issuances of a regulator, which have industry-wide ramifications in the field of insurance
• Representing foreign nationals who were victims of a swindling operation
• Assisting a client in recovering a domain name through the World Intellectual Property Organization
• Defending clients who were duly registered independent contractors against claims of employment
• Assisting a connectivity platform against claims of employment by users of the platform
• Assisting a multinational company in settling infringement claims of a global software company
• Handling both petitions for trademark registration and oppositions to such registration in the Philippine Intellectual Property Organization

Intellectual Property

The Firm is committed to assisting established and emerging innovators in the protection of their technological assets through intellectual property rights. We offer strategies and solutions in trademark management, copyright counseling, and patent registration, to clients in e-commerce, biotechnology, cross-border digital logistics, and information technology.

Similarly, the Firm is also experienced in representing its clients in trademark disputes and litigation, as well as in obtaining international grants of protection over our clients’ trademarks under the Madrid System.

Our lawyers provide a full range of advice on Intellectual Property matters, including:

• Trademark Infringement
• Trademark Registration
• Copyright Registration
• Copyright Infringement
• Licensing and Assignment of Rights
• Design Patents
• Branding Issues
• Patents
• Trade Secrets
• IPR Defense and Prosecution
• Vicarious Liability and Contributory Infringement
• Service Provider Exemption from Liability

The Firm provides assistance to clients at every stage of intellectual property registration and maintenance. More recently, the Firm:

• Successfully petitioned the cancellation of a brand name that was confusingly similar to a beauty product distributor’s brand;
• Commenced the patent registration process for a modern engineering and design company;
• Obtained the Letters Patent for a biopharmaceutical company’s treatment innovation;
• Navigated the international trademark registration process under the Madrid Protocol for a leading e-commerce and logistics company;
• Advised a top Philippine university on copyright in relation to the development of online learning materials.
• Advised a global client in formulating a standard Open Source Software Policy applicable to in-house development

Real Estate

An exhaustive investigation of land titles as well as claims upon property is an essential part of our practice, especially those involving acquisition and disposition of commercial properties, financing, leasing, project development, joint ventures, consolidation, and land registration.

We provide the same level of protection whether the subject matter is a residential lot for a family home or the consolidation of hundreds of hectares for land banking and future development.

Our lawyers provide a full range of advice on Real Estate matters, including:

• Due Diligence Audits
• Torrens Title Searches and Verifications
• Property Management
• Lease Agreements
• Long-term Lease to Foreign Entities
• Joint Venture Agreements
• Vertical and Horizontal Real Estate Development
• Real Estate Brokers
• Taxes on Transactions

Corporate And M&A

Disini Law has guided businesses with corporate structuring, company registration, post-incorporation registration, corporate reorganizations, financial restructuring, and dissolution. 

Likewise, we have represented both local and foreign clients in mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, bond flotation, issuance of debt securities, and back-door listings, and have acted on their behalf in relation to investments in nationalized industries, preferred areas with incentives, and pioneering ventures. 

Our portfolio consists of diverse clients, ranging from traditional companies, such as banking and financial services, retail, licensing, publishing, and education; non-stock companies with membership consisting of professionals from the media, the practice of medicine, and the start-up community; technology and/or new media companies, such as cryptocurrency, cloud-based technologies, social media, online marketplace, e-money, to name a few.

Our lawyers provide a full range of advice on corporate matters, including:

• Compliance with SEC Filings
• General Corporate Housekeeping
• Debt Agreements
• Incorporation and Registration with Various Government Agencies
• Local Government Regulatory Compliance
• Amendment of Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws
• Dissolution of Corporations
• Winding Down of Corporate Operations
• Engagement of Directors and Corporate Officers
• Increase and Decrease in Authorized Capital Stock
• Corporate Reorganizations
• Financial Restructuring
• Shareholders’ Agreements
• Intra-Corporate Disputes
• Angel Investing
• Shareholder Arrangements
• Share Purchase Agreements
• Stock Option Plans
• Debt-to-Equity Conversions
• Foreign Investment Structuring
• Nationalized Industries and Restricted Areas
• Securing Fiscal Incentives for Preferred Areas of Investment
• Venture Capital

OUR PRACTICE AREAS

• Technology, Media & Telecommunications
• Emerging Media
• Data Privacy
• Banking & Finance
• M&A, Investment and Securities
• Corporate Services
• Employment & Immigration
• Litigation
• Intellectual Property
• Real Estate
• Entertainment

Some of the recent projects and work in this practice area include:

• Registering a Philippine subsidiary for a foreign technology company, allowing the local entity to engage in the delivery of technology-enabled health care services in the Philippines.
• Facilitating the corporate structuring for a domestic company that intended to operate an online lending business.
• Assisting in the corporate restructuring of the regional operations of a foreign company that intended to grow its health services operations in the Philippines. This resulted in the establishment of a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Philippines that would operate a healthcare facility in Metro Manila and in view of the pandemic, answer the need for remote health services, among others.
• Advising e-commerce companies in corporate restructuring as they rationalized their regional operations.
• Assisting a no-code software client in its pre-Series A fundraising round, corporate restructuring, and issuance of instruments.
• Advising a client in the restructuring of its business operations in the Philippines to avail of favorable tax rates under domestic laws and to qualify for tax exemption under the applicable tax treaty.
• Assisting an SG-based product company in its pre-Series A fundraising round
• Advising a fintech company engaged in e-money operations with its planned investment.
• Assisting with corporate restructuring which resulted in the company being a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Japanese company.
• Assisting a client in the preparation of documentation and protocols necessary to comply with its obligations with international and local funders.
• Assisting a client in investing in a local company that would advance its goals in delivering technology-enabled health care and health services in the Philippines that is low-cost and easily accessible.
• Assisting a social media platform in structuring their global and regional operations.