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'Rights holders must receive an equitable share of the revenue,' argued the Commissioner. 'As high quality content cannot exist without such remuneration, a business model built on a free-rider system is in fact a house of cards. Moreover, illegal uploading and downloading takes up enormous amounts of bandwidth, which puts a lot of strain on the 'backbone' of the Internet.' In the fight against this type of piracy, the Commissioner welcomed the so-called graduated response being introduced in certain Member States and called for an exchange of best practices in combating piracy. The graduated response can entail the following steps: (1) Internet service providers (ISPs) send an e-mail to their clients telling them to stop sharing files illegally; (2) ISPs send a registered letter to their clients telling them to stop; (3) ISPs cut the bandwidth of their clients; (4) ISPs suspend or terminate the contract.
Ms Reding finished by promising that the Commission will investigate the possibilities of designing funding mechanisms for online distribution, for instance through the MEDIA 2007 programme, as well as for encouraging the digitisation of new audiovisual works for online distribution.
Moreover, illegal uploading and downloading takes up enormous amounts of bandwidth, which puts a lot of strain on the 'backbone' of the Internet.'
The commisioner is either stupid or just plain ignorant.
The advent of film online presents opportunities both for the film industry, in terms of access to new international and niche markets, as well as Internet service providers, for whom high quality content will drive broadband adoption.
There may be a disastrous loss in revenue if the market is inundated with unauthorised file sharing of films, as has been observed with music.'
The legislation's draft proposal was introduced jointly by France, Ireland, Sweden and the UK to aid law enforcement in combating terrorist acts. It will require phone companies and ISPs to retain customer data such as the time, date and location of sent and received emails and phone calls for 12 to 36 months. The content of the communications, however, will not be retained.
"Individuals involved in organised crime and terrorism will easily find a way to prevent their data being traced."
By massive raise of hands on 7 June 2005 the European Parliament adopted the very critical report of Alexander Alvaro on the proposal for mandatory data retention. The European Parliament thus sent a clear signal to the Council of Justice and Home Affairs ministers that they completely reject the current approach in the third pillar. Under this procedure, the European Parliament only has an advisory role, but no power to amend or reject a proposal. The JHA Council immediately responded in the EP that they would not withdraw the draft framework decision but continue to work on it. The European Commission will have to take both costs for the industry and human rights in general into account, when creating a proposal. Commissioner Viviane Reding announced in response to the agreement in the JHA Council that the Commission would conduct an impact-analysis. When it comes to human rights, on 27 April Commission President Barroso announced that all new directives would have to be examined on their compatibility with the Human Rights Charter. For every legislative process there will have to be an impact assessment on the effect of legislation on individual rights and an examination of the legal reasoning for legislation - with an assessment of its effects on fundamental human rights. There is still not a single bit of evidence about the pressing social need in a democratic society to introduce the planned immense warehouses with intimate details about the social networks, reading interests and whereabouts of every innocent EU citizen. Hopefully the new Commissioners Group on Fundamental Rights, Anti-discrimination and Equal Opportunities will take this lack of proof, so essential under article 8 of the ECHR, into account before they accept a directive proposal.
I feel people should read this and be on guard against politicaly sponsored attacks. As this obviously is. newbielink:http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:23836 [nonactive]Quote'Rights holders must receive an equitable share of the revenue,' argued the Commissioner. 'As high quality content cannot exist without such remuneration, a business model built on a free-rider system is in fact a house of cards. Moreover, illegal uploading and downloading takes up enormous amounts of bandwidth, which puts a lot of strain on the 'backbone' of the Internet.' In the fight against this type of piracy, the Commissioner welcomed the so-called graduated response being introduced in certain Member States and called for an exchange of best practices in combating piracy. The graduated response can entail the following steps: (1) Internet service providers (ISPs) send an e-mail to their clients telling them to stop sharing files illegally; (2) ISPs send a registered letter to their clients telling them to stop; (3) ISPs cut the bandwidth of their clients; (4) ISPs suspend or terminate the contract. The commisioner is either stupid or just plain ignorant.We all pay for our internet use , so what she is claiming above is that if we all use what we are paying for it strains the network ?Why draw the ISP,s into her political arena ?Well if you can use pressure or regulatory powers to get ISP,s to remove content goverments or business, dont agree with, freedom of speech has disappeared, its a back door methosd of control.Lets also clarify her other statements "rights holders" = Cartel business interests who monopolise the market and fix prices on an international level.Her opinion that decent quality music and video productions that do not fit into the existing framework of the cartels business model, are non existant, is pure fantasy, artists are starting to explore p2p and the web as a frontline market place for their productions, bypassing the cartels monopoly (and many goverment levies ), this is the real agenda folks QuoteMs Reding finished by promising that the Commission will investigate the possibilities of designing funding mechanisms for online distribution, for instance through the MEDIA 2007 programme, as well as for encouraging the digitisation of new audiovisual works for online distribution.Goverments are prepared to back the Cartel with your cash to get taxes back in the long run, the "dont rock the boat" business model is a flawed one, notice how the term "Funding mechanism" is used here ?Yes folks thats right its a euphenism for a tax and handout system, so you can pay the Cartel twice or maybe even 3 times if you own an ipod. We all agree that renumeration is a good thing but just not with the amount and the system involved in distributing it, too many vested interests all looking greedily at there own spheres of influence.
According to Reuters, the EC is getting ready to publish a study recommending the creation of pan-European organisations used to collecting authors' rights and royalties across the 25 member states. The song shops will also be able to buy a single, pan-European licence. However such a licence may operate, the EC has concluded the status quo is no longer an option and has become a genuine obstacle in the development of competition in the online music market.
The Eu is unhappy about how the legal download market is arranged in europe (it may well have something to do with Apple overcharging UK customers), and has plans for a pan european licencing system.
Well we shall have to see what sort of arrangement they come up with, but I hope any legislation puts a stop to the discriminatory pricing that has been taking place.
The European Commission is taking the first steps in an infringement procedure under the EC Treaty against France, Spain, Finland and the Czech Republic for their failure to implement the European Copyright Directive (EUCD). The press release is frank about the rightsholders' centered focus of the EUCD:The 2001 Copyright Directive is an essential plank in updating EU copyright law and providing an adequate level of copyright protection for authors and other right-holders in the digital environment. In this respect, the Copyright Directive requires Member States to provide adequate legal protection against “hacking” or other disabling of that “anti-copying” devices and other equipment used to protect copyright when works are published digitally.
The German performing rights society GEMA has criticized the proposals made by the EU commission for a reform of online music rights . GEMA believes that the implementation of a standardized European licensing system would run the risk of bringing about "apparently unforeseen, chaotic changes." At present, artists have to register their works in every single country. If the EU commission has its way, one license will be provided for a copyright in all 25 EU members. Organizations that protect music rights, like GEMA, will then be able to operate internationally.
Little-noticed language in a European Union plan to crack down on organized piracy could also make indirect copyright infringement a crime across Europe, with implications similar to the recent MGM v. Grokster U.S. Supreme Court ruling, experts say. A directive being pushed by the European Commission would, among other things, criminalize "attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting" acts of copyright infringement. The EU parliament will take up the proposal later this year. Like the Grokster ruling, the scope of the proposal reaches beyond the act of downloading or uploading copyright video, music or software files and makes supporting copyright infringement illegal. If the directive is adopted, software used primarily for illegal file sharing, for example, could potentially make its developers criminally liable in one or several EU member countries. "Echoing fears voiced in the United States after the Grokster ruling, Gasser says the directive could stifle innovation, as software and IT firms may fear developing technologies that might later be adopted by pirates. "The (proposed directive) uses vague language and unclear standards that increase or add uncertainty to (the software and IT) market that is very much in a state of flux," Gasser said. Uncertainty over what innovations are legal or illegal would be further confounded by different legislative interpretations of the directive among the EU member states, said Gasser. "Just within Europe you would have to care about many different standards and about what they exactly mean, and what 'inducing' and 'inciting' exactly mean," Gasser said. However, Thomas Dillon, the Motion Picture Association's anti-piracy legal counsel for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, contends that the provision criminalizing indirect acts of copyright infringement is a mere "footnote" in the European Commission's proposal.
The UK's National Consumer Council (NCC) has lent its voice to pan European calls for the music and film industries to stop treating consumers like pirates.It is particularly critical of licence conditions the music industry is imposing on consumers, and says that the range of content available online is very narrow, threatening cultural diversity.The 'Declaration of Consumers’ Digital Rights', calls for the music industry to stop suing P2P downloaders and to give the market a chance to evolve new ways of distributing content online.It also wants companies working on DRM solutions to be compelled to respect fair use rights. It argues that service providers should not be able to unilaterally change the terms and conditions controlling music a person has already purchased.The BEUC wants the following rights guaranteed for European consumers:Right to choice, knowledge and cultural diversity Right to the principle of 'technical neutrality' - defend and maintain consumer rights in the digital environment Right to benefit from technological innovations without abusive restrictions Right to interoperability of content and devices Right to the protection of privacy Right not to be criminalised
The European music business has welcomed Peter Mandelson's announcement that the EU is committed to an uncompromising approach to copyright violation. Following a meeting with US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, where they agreed a joint approach to enforcement, the EU Trade Commissioner said: 'We are sending a message of zero tolerance to the rest of the world.'Gutierrez said that the defence of intellectual property rights would get the full resources of the US government.John Kennedy, CEO of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI) said: 'This zero tolerance approach to piracy is literally music to our ears. European artist and record companies have been suffering enormously from theft of intellectual property.'He urged the EU and the US to put China and Russia at the top of the list for action.
The European Parliament has approved proposals on data retention that would compel telecom firms to keep customer email logs, details of internet usage and phone call records for between six months to two years.The plan - designed to assist law enforcement in the fight against terrorism and serious crime - leaves it up to individual governments to decide how long service providers will be obliged to keep data.Police and intelligence agencies would have access to call records (including data on lost calls), location information and internet logs without getting access to the content of the information communicated. MEPs decided to drop provisions to make it mandatory for member states to reimburse telecom companies for additional costs incurred in servicing law enforcement requests.The EU directive on data retention passed by 378 votes in favour to 197 against and 30 abstentions during its first reading on Wednesday. The measures were put forward by Britain after the 7 July bomb attacks on London.
The European patent system is back on the IT agenda for 2006 after the European Commission launched a consultation on future patent policy, six months after the European Parliament rejected the EC's controversial technology patents directive.Internal market and services commissioner Charlie McCreevy announced the plan to seek views on how to improve the patent system in Europe and push forward the long-delayed Community Patent initiative, prompting anti-software patent campaigners to raise the alert. McCreevy said the Community Patent "remains central to our policy" and also invited "businesses and individuals alike" to enter into a debate on ways to improve the current patent system in Europe, and explore possible areas for harmonization across the EU.The Community Patent plan to create a single European patent system has been debated since the 1970s but stalled in 2004 as the Competitive Council failed to agree on the details. It has been expected to return to the political agenda since July 2005 when the European Parliament voted unanimously to reject the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented interventions, CII.
European Union regulators accused music royalty collection societies of breaking competition rules by restricting broadcasters from obtaining pan-European copyright licences. The European Commission, the EU’s antitrust regulator in Brussels, said national monopolies that manage musicians’ copyright licenses are hurting competition through exclusive national contracts. The commission’s move follows a complaint by RTL Group SA, Europe’s biggest broadcaster and a unit of Germany’s Bertelsmann AG. ‘‘Certain aspects of the agreements might infringe the EC treaty’s prohibition of restrictive business practices,’’ the commission said in a statement on Tuesday. The EU has put collecting societies under increased scrutiny. In October 2005, EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said the music industry’s growth in Europe is hampered by having to negotiate rights country by country. The commission can take action against companies for abusing their market position, including fines of as much as 10% of sales.
While the market for music, games and VHS has declined in recent years, DVD sales have rocketed by 20%, according to figures from Screen Digest. DVD sales in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy are expected to show a further 10% growth in 2005. But consumer spending on games and music is likely to reveal a downturn of 3% and 5% respectively. 2004 was the first year in which DVD retail sales exceeded games and music. In the five leading European markets that year, more than £5.2bn was spent on DVDs, £4.4bn on recorded music, £2.94bn on games and just £480m on video tapes. More DVDs than ever were sold last year, but a fall in prices of up to 11% meant that the level of consumer spending fell overall. Spending on DVD rentals across Europe is thought to have reached around £1.5m.
At least 6 million books, documents and other cultural works will be made available online over the next five years under a planned European Digital Library.The European Commission on Thursday released more details about its plans to finance a series of "digitization centers" across the continent and create a framework for protecting intellectual property rights. The centers will house the skills and expertise "needed to achieve excellence for digitization and preservation processes," the EC said. People will be able to search the collections of libraries, archives and museums through a single, multilingual entry point, which will take the form of a Web portal. Two million books, films, photographs, manuscripts and other works are expected to become accessible through the library by 2008, rising to 6 million by 2010. The EC said the final figure would be much higher as "every library, archive and museum in Europe will be able to link its digital content to the European Digital Library." The Commission noted that Google's digital library project had "triggered a reflection" on how to deal with Europe's cultural heritage
Microsoft continues to flout its antitrust order, the European Commission said Friday in two strongly worded statements. The EC has again written to Redmond explaining where it's failing to comply with a 2004 decision by the competition office.Further study of Microsoft's submissions - it's obliged to document its protocols and interfaces - revealed them to be "entirely inadequate". For good measure, the EC compared Microsoft's protocol documentation to bloatware, and implied that Microsoft hadn't read the decision it was legally obliged to obey.Microsoft had accused Barrett of colluding with competitors by meeting with them regularly. In fact, that's just his job.Rather tartly, the EU also reminded Microsoft that Barrett had been proposed by … er, Microsoft.The Commission also quotes from an independent analysis of Microsoft's protocol documentation conducted by Taeus.Taeus compared Microsoft's submissions to a car manufacturer selling a car without wheels, handbrake, or steering wheel, and only fitting each begrudgingly after the customer complains.Taeus concluded that what documentation Microsoft had provided was "devoted to obsolete functionality", "self-contradictory" and was written "primarily to maximize volume (page count) while minimizing useful information.'"
The European Commission has rejected a call by Microsoft to open up an antitrust hearing scheduled for March 30 and 31. The hearing will decide whether the Redmond company has complied with a March 2004 ruling against it, and could lead to additional fines surpassing 200 million euros.Microsoft says it wants a public hearing so other companies can understand the far-reaching implications of the lawsuit. The company has recently used the media to plead its case while alleging the EU is withholding critical documents, and an open hearing would aid this effort. But EU spokesperson Jonathan Todd says, "the procedural regulation explicitly prohibits this."
Microsoft said on Wednesday it is taking new voluntary actions to comply with European Commission sanctions, as it seeks to avoid fines of up to $2.43 million daily.The Commission found two years ago that Microsoft used its dominant position with the Windows operating system to damage rival makers of server software used to run printers, password sign-ins and file access for small work groups.The Commission said Microsoft never complied with sanctions designed to put competitive makers of work group servers on a level playing field and opened proceedings to fine the firm.In its latest statement, the company said on Wednesday it would provide free, unlimited technical support to companies that license its protocols for work-group servers."In addition to unlimited technical support, Microsoft is further augmenting the program by offering on-site assistance to licensees," the company said in a statement.The European Commission said it had not been told about the offer so did not know any details, but that at first sight it seemed constructive."However, technical support is only helpful once the documentation has reached a certain quality standard ... the Commission's preliminary view is that the technical documentation still does not comply with the requirements of the decision," Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said.
