Dr. Vivencio O. Ballano is a Professor of Sociology and Law at St. Paul University,  and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila, Philippines. His specialized areas of teaching and research include Sociology of Law and Religion, Optical Media Law, Constitutional Law, Disaster Management Law and Copyright Counterfeiting. He obtained his doctoral degree in Sociology from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2011 and was chosen as a 2012 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of the Southeast Asian Studies Research Exchange Program (SEASREP). He has read papers in local and international conferences and published articles in journals mostly on the area of copyright piracy. He has also published a textbook for his course on Politics, Government, and the Philippine Constitution. He is a founding Board Member of the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR) and a member of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS). In 2013, St. Paul University recognised his research work by awarding him the Best Researcher Award for that year.

• Acknowledgments.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The  U.S. IP Hegemony and the Politics of Piracy and Resistance.- Chapter 3: Government’s Attitude towards the Informal Sector and Piracy.- Chapter 4: Obstacles in Formalizing the Optical Media Trade.- Chapter 5: Social and Technological Forces Supporting Piracy.- Chapter 6: Corruption and Nonenforcement of the Optical Media Law.- Chapter 7: Tracing  Media Piracy: The Current and Future Trends.

Dr. Vivencio O. Ballano is a Professor of Sociology and Law at St. Paul University,  and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila, Philippines. His specialized areas of teaching and research include Sociology of Law and Religion, Optical Media Law, Constitutional Law, Disaster Management Law and Copyright Counterfeiting. He obtained his doctoral degree in Sociology from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2011 and was chosen as a 2012 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of the Southeast Asian Studies Research Exchange Program (SEASREP). He has read papers in local and international conferences and published articles in journals mostly on the area of copyright piracy. He has also published a textbook for his course on Politics, Government, and the Philippine Constitution. He is a founding Board Member of the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR) and a member of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS). In 2013, St. Paul University recognised his research work by awarding him the Best Researcher Award for that year.

• Acknowledgments.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The  U.S. IP Hegemony and the Politics of Piracy and Resistance.- Chapter 3: Government’s Attitude towards the Informal Sector and Piracy.- Chapter 4: Obstacles in Formalizing the Optical Media Trade.- Chapter 5: Social and Technological Forces Supporting Piracy.- Chapter 6: Corruption and Nonenforcement of the Optical Media Law.- Chapter 7: Tracing  Media Piracy: The Current and Future Trends.

Dr. Vivencio O. Ballano is a Professor of Sociology and Law at St. Paul University,  and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Manila, Philippines. His specialized areas of teaching and research include Sociology of Law and Religion, Optical Media Law, Constitutional Law, Disaster Management Law and Copyright Counterfeiting. He obtained his doctoral degree in Sociology from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2011 and was chosen as a 2012 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow of the Southeast Asian Studies Research Exchange Program (SEASREP). He has read papers in local and international conferences and published articles in journals mostly on the area of copyright piracy. He has also published a textbook for his course on Politics, Government, and the Philippine Constitution. He is a founding Board Member of the Philippine Association for the Sociology of Religion (PASR) and a member of the Philippine Sociological Society (PSS). In 2013, St. Paul University recognised his research work by awarding him the Best Researcher Award for that year.

• Acknowledgments.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The  U.S. IP Hegemony and the Politics of Piracy and Resistance.- Chapter 3: Government’s Attitude towards the Informal Sector and Piracy.- Chapter 4: Obstacles in Formalizing the Optical Media Trade.- Chapter 5: Social and Technological Forces Supporting Piracy.- Chapter 6: Corruption and Nonenforcement of the Optical Media Law.- Chapter 7: Tracing  Media Piracy: The Current and Future Trends.