International Issues
in cra-briefings38 · September 15, 2006
UNITED STATES to REFORM MECHANICAL ROYALITIES
A panel contemplating new legislation in the United States has approved the Section 115 Reform Act that proposes to overhaul the mechanical royalty system in the United States. The draft legislation proposes a blanket royalty system that will be administered though the U.S. Copyright Office. Despite the panel’s support, changes are expected to the bill before it is presented to Congress. Among the changes expected are those that would respond to concerns of public interest groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The EFF is concerned that the new legislation will require consumers to pay fees for uses of content for which they are not currently charged. Consumer groups are concerned that the levy system would create a payment for, rather than the exception of, incidental copies, a use that is currently excepted under the American regime. For more information on the position of the EFF see www.eff.org, or for information on the bill see www.news.com.com.
UK REPORTS ON DRM
The All Party Parliamentary Internet Group in the UK has released a report on digital rights management. Based on 90 written submissions plus oral evidence given at hearings, the report makes recommendations on steps that the government and industry should take regarding the implementation of DRM to ensure that consumers are informed and their rights are protected. To read the report or a summary, please see: www.apig.org.uk.
JOURNALISTS in the UK CALL FOR YAHOO BOYCOTT
The National Union of Journalists (www.nuj.org.uk) has called on its members to stop using Yahoo. This call was made following allegations that Yahoo had been providing information about web-based journalists to Chinese authorities thereby contributing to actions against journalists compromising freedom of speech. Jemima Kiss, chairman of the National Union of Journalists, has asked all members to stop using Yahoo until Yahoo “changes its irresponsible and unethical policy”. The NUJ is hoping to encourage Yahoo to cease cooperation with the Chinese government and to protect the interests of journalists, particularly the freedom of expression rights of journalists operating on the web. For more information on this action see www.reuters.com.
EUROPEAN FILM ONLINE CHARTER ENDORSED
The European Film Online Charter was initiated by Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media in May 2005 and launched at the Cannes Film Festival that year. It was jointly develop under the auspices of the European Commission and business leaders in the telecommunications sector and launched at this past May at the Cannes. The Charter said to be the first of its kind—identifies “the preconditions for enabling content and infrastructure providers to make film online services a commercial success.” It is intended to serve as a reference for future commercial agreements as well as for broader content online policy of the EC. It has been endorsed by European Union and a number of key telecommunications operators including Time Warner, EMI. BBC, Telecom Italia Media and Thomson. For more information see: ec.uropa.eu.
PIRATE BAY AND PARTY TAKE ACTION IN SWEDEN
The copyright debate in Sweden has taken an unusual turn according to a Reuters’ report. In late May, Swedish police detained three people who were involved in the operation of The Pirate Bay, an on-line source of illegal musical and film works. The Pirate Bay website, was shut down as part of the police action in May, but has since resumed operation. Nevertheless, not everybody in Sweden is supportive of copyright laws that criminalize file sharing of copyright protected works. The Pirate Party was launched on January 1st of this year to run candidates in the federal elections scheduled for September. The primary mandate of this party is to fight for changes to copyright law. For more information on the objectives of the Pirate Party, please see: ww2.piratpartiet.se’s site.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL SEEKS TO END INTERNET REPRESSION
Amnesty International has launched a global campaign to end state censorship of the Internet. Keeping to its tradition of peaceful protest, Amnesty has asked web users to sign a pledge calling on governments to stop censorship on the Internet. They plan to present it to the United Nations meeting on the Future of the Internet in November. Kate Allen, the UK Director of Amnesty International, states, “The Internet is a huge, powerful tool. We see governments censoring across the Internet or locking people up for having conversations about democracy and freedom. I call on governments to stop the unwarranted restriction of freedom of expression, and on companies to stop helping them do it.” More information on this petition can be found at www.irrepressible.info.
BULGARIA ACTS AGAINST PIRACY
www.news.com.com has reported that two men have been arrested in Bulgaria for posting links to 20 million songs and hundreds of films on the site www.arenabg.com, one of Bulgaria’s most popular web pages. Customers using the service are permitted to download as many songs as they want for the monthly fee of $2.50 US. Piracy is seen as a major problem in Bulgaria and could be a stumbling block to its entering the European Union in 2007. The Europa Newsletter #81 suggested that, without a fix to its piracy problems, Bulgaria’s entry into the European Union may be delayed until 2008.
GERMAN POLICE SUE FILE SHARERS
German police have pressed charges against more than 2000 file sharers who use the popular P2P service Edonkey. The charges arose from surveillance that reportedly took place in February and April of this year. This case, which also includes claims for compensation under civil law, is reported to be the first of its kind brought in Germany. The International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) has stated that this case is the largest file sharing case ever brought. P2PNet has reported that the IFPI is seeking 10,000 per work uploaded by the alleged infringers. For more information see www.news.com.com or www.p2pnet.net.
SPAIN IMPLEMENTS INFORMATION SOCIETY DIRECTIVE
On June 22, Spain implemented the European Union’s Information Society Directive, leaving France as the only EU member that has not implemented the directive in national legislation. Spain has incorporated the private copying aspects of the directive by introducing an equipment levy. The levy is not set by the legislation; instead legislators have determined that it shoud be negotiated by the industries involved and users. The French Parliament voted on the implementation of the directive in June and the legislation is currently before the Constitutional Counsel, the highest constitutional authority in France. A final decision is expected in France in August. More information on the status of this legislation can be found at www.ifrro.org.
FRENCH MUSIC RETAILER FINED FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Virgin France has been fined 600,000 for music piracy as a consequence of illegally downloading Madonna’s “Hung Up” to resell on its website. By doing this Virgin was ignoring an exclusive deal reached with other music retailers for the distribution of the song. Though Virgin argued that consumer protection and the need to create a balanced market for internet downloading justified its actions, the Court held that market forces did not provide a defence to copyright infringement. For more information on this fine please see news.bbc.co.uk.
US CONTINUES PIRACY FIGHT
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has broken up a movie-bootlegging ring that is believed to have been the source of 25% of all of the world’s pirated videos and DVD’s. Thirteen individuals have been arrested. The FBI alleges that the ring arranged for movies to be filmed by movie goers; the resulting tapes would be cleaned up and then reproduced and packaged for sale. For more information please see www.cnetnews.com. The United States Department of Justice is also taking issues of intellectual property enforcement more seriously. In June it released its 100 page Progress Report on Intellectual Property Enforcement. Though most of the report deals with the challenges of enforcement inside the United States, it also discusses US efforts to increase compliance worldwide. One tool the US is using which the report endorses is bilateral trade agreements that require the signing country to implement Digital Millennium Copyright Act type protections. The report also endorses the Intellectual Property Protection Act that which introduces new causes of action against copyright infringement including charges for attempt and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. The full text of the report can be found at www.eff.org’s site.