news item: Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive; vote on 9th of march

[Wilbert]

The European Parliament is to vote next week on a controversial law that would extend companies' powers to crack down on pirates - and song-swappers.

This controversial law or 'Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive', is the european cousin of the well known DMCA.


"Intellectual property: Enforcing the rights, measures and procedures", known as the Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive, is primarily aimed at cracking down on organised piracy and counterfeiting in the EU, but critics say its measures would criminalise previously innocuous offences such as street busking and book readers for the blind.

The directive had been scheduled for a 9 February vote in a plenary session of the European Parliament, but was delayed in order to hammer out a compromise. The Parliament hopes to approve the directive before June, when new member states will join the EU, according to industry observers.

According to civil-liberties group European Digital Rights (EDRI), a compromise put forward by the European Commission could allow member states more flexibility in deciding the scope of the law, for example limiting the applicability of criminal sanctions to what are currently civil offences.

More info: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39146681,00.htm
Janelly Fourtou's postal address: http://www.epp-ed.org/Members/en/ShowMember.asp?PERS_ID=4336

[Wilbert]

Well, it looks very bad. The final vote will be on the 9th of March, preceeded by a debate of the full Parliament on 8th of March. Don't forget to contact your MEPs (http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep5/owa/p_meps2.repartition?ilg=EN&iorig=home).


A proposed European Union law strengthening enforcement capabilities against intellectual-property violations has been approved by the European Parliament's judicial affairs committee (JURI), paving the way for a fast-track vote next month, despite harsh criticism from civil liberties groups.

The proposed directive was approved by JURI on Monday, and is set for a debate by the full Parliament on 8 March, followed by a parliamentary vote the next day, and approval by ministers on 11 March. If approved, member states would have two years to implement the directive's provisions in national law.

(...)

The US-based group the Electronic Frontier Foundation said that while some of the remedies in the directive are only available for commercial-scale infringement, a loophole has been added in recital 13a -- a provision which defines "commercial scale" as "carried out for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage".

"Although it goes on to say, 'This would normally exclude acts done by end consumers acting in good faith,' the meaning of 'indirect economic advantage' is unclear and the directive is not limited to intentional infringements," the EFF argued in an alert to EU citizens. "Therefore, there is concern that rights-holders will be able to use the new tougher penalties against consumers who accidentally or unknowingly infringe, including those who commit minor infringements without any commercial purpose or impact."

IP Justice, a civil liberties organisation based in San Francisco, argued the directive would lead to mass prosecutions of individual consumers, similar to those that the Recording Industry Association of America has undertaken in the US. "Similar subpoena powers created under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have allowed the recording industry to frighten and financially extort thousands of US consumers for P2P file-sharing of music," stated Robin Gross, IP Justice attorney and executive director. "The directive's bloated scope will allow the recording industry to violate the rights of millions of European consumers for minor infringements."

source: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/business/legal/0,39020651,39147407,00.htm

Latest draft Council text (29.1.2004) text: http://wiki.ael.be/uploads/IPRE-Council-Jan29.html

Amendments approved by the Committee: http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/juri/20031126/498789en.pdf

I guess something is missing, because I can't find this 'recital 13a'.

[Angelus]

"The Nuclear Weapon of Digital Rights Law"

Here's an article from PCMag about an upcoming vote for the European Union regarding it's own DMCA...only on steroids. One thing that stuck out for me in the article is this:

"If you make a copy of a CD and give it to your mother, there are provisions within this directive for recording industry officials to raid your house, and there are similar provisions for doing things like freezing your bank account before there is any kind of hearing."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1540370,00.asp

If I lived in the EU, I'd be worried. BIG BROTHER WILL BE WATCHING YOU! I mean that's like carring around a loaded assault rifle and shooting people who you "think" are stealing. Tell it to the dead guy that you were mistaken...

There ya go,


Angelus

[pyropir]

EU citizens: Please e-mail all members of the European Parliament from your country. I know from experience that MEPs take such messages quite serious because it is an indicator of the general mood. Don't forget there are elections in the EU parliament in June, so many of them will be nervous about that.

You can also urge them to sign the FIPR/Cappato Amendments. Find out more from this website: http://www.ipjustice.org/CODE/

Get your MEP's e-mail here: http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep5/owa/p_meps2.repartition?ilg=EN

We have to realise that political action is the only way we can save our freedom from the greed of certain Multinational corporation$.

[Wilbert]

I mailed the dutch MEP's yesterday (at least those with an email address). Only one of them replied on the subject (the leader of the social democrats, the PvdA), he agreed with me (that the law is bad and should be rejected).

But I was very disappointed that there was no single word about it in the dutch media. I guess nobody cares about it :(

Do the media from other countries give any attention?

[pyropir]

I e-mailed all 6 MEPs from my country (Luxembourg only has 6 MEPs). Not a single one replied. What do these guys do all day? The main problem with politics is that the media don't report important things, especially if it's got to do with the EU, so it's really easy for industry lobby groups to get their stuff through. Democracy's a joke if you ask me. Thanks god that we don't have to rely on the corporate media that much anymore, and that websites & forums like this one and mailing lists can be used for information.


I just saw an article about the directive on the BBC though:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3545839.stm

[pyropir]

Just as we were talking, it went through. 330 for, 151 against, with 39 abstentions.
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/09/eu.piracy.ap/


As far as I understand it, it could still be stopped by the various ministers and the national parliaments. Maybe it's time to mount a wider, EU-wide campaign against it?

[Wilbert]

It looks like some important admentments are accepted. Quoting some relevant parts:


An amendment passed by the parliament said enforcement of the measures "need be applied only for breaches committed on a commercial scale," and should not apply to consumers "acting in good faith" who download music for their own use at home.


The proposal was watered down, taking out criminal penalties for piracy, something industry groups had called for. Also, plans to introduce specific fines -- set at double the amount counterfeiters should have paid copyright holders -- were changed to damages "proportionate and sufficiently deterrent."

The new rules will be limited to commercial fraud and would not target the private downloading of music or movies from the Internet.

However, consumer groups fear the legislation would do little to prevent companies from coming down hard on consumers who download music or software at home.

"The proposed directive would allow recording industry executives to privately invade the homes of file-sharers ... to gather evidence for civil prosecutions," said Robin Gross, head of IP Justice, a U.S.-based international civil rights group promoting fair intellectual rights laws.

McCarthy said that would not happen under the new rules. "Contrary to the hysteria, there is no questions of dawn raids on teenagers in their homes," she said.

However I don't know which of the admentments are accepted from this list:

http://www.ipjustice.org/CODE/FIPR_Cappato_Amendments.doc

[pyropir]

Marco Cappato, the MEP who submitted amendments to the directive, just put a list online of how the MEPs voted. You need to look at pages 15-16, where it says "Rapport Fourtou - resolution" , the rest seem to be the votes on the amendments.

http://www.radicalparty.org/privacy/vote_fourtou.pdf

Well two of the MEPs I e-mailed voted against. I definately will not vote for any of the other in the June elections.

Btw. MEP Janelly Fourtou who submitted the directive is the wife of the boss of Vivendi Universal Jean-Rene Fourtou.

[Wilbert]

Thanks for that list. I see that a lot of the dutch members (most ones except the socialists, green ones and some liberals) voted for the law (about two third), and against the admentments. I'm very sorry ...

In general I see that the liberals and socialists are divided (although the majority of them voted for the law), and almost every christian also voted for the law (surprise surprise).