Mumbai: The Philippine Department of Justice (DoJ) has reiterated rejection of a motion for re-consideration by alleged cable pirate Maguindanao Skycable. The Philippines Secretary of Justice, Raul M. Gonzalez, said the DoJ had made a final decision that criminal copyright violation cases should be lodged against Estrellita Juliano-Tamano and other officers of Maguindanao Skycable.

The April 9th "Motion for Reconsideration" by the Maguindanao executives "shall be considered a useless piece of paper" and "will not merit a whit of consideration from this office", said Gonzalez.

Noting that the appeal was lodged despite clearly-stated previous decisions by the DoJ, Gonzalez instructed the Maguindanao Skycable attorney to "exercise better discretion in the future".

The copyright complaints were originally filed in early 2006 by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) on behalf of the copyright holders against Maguindanao Skycable for illegally distributing copyrighted programs of major cable and satellite program providers.

"We thank the Department of Justice for making this final call," said CASBAA CEO Simon Twiston Davies. "Their action demonstrates the ultimate commitment of the Philippine authorities in the fight against piracy.  Further progress on these cases will highlight their determination to protect intellectual property rights on all levels and across all industries."