French Court Kills Part of Controversial Copyright Law

French Court Kills Part of Controversial Copyright Law 

French Court Kills Part of Controversial Copyright Law

A French court struck down yesterday part of a recently passed anti-piracy law that would have shut off Internet access to those accused of repeated copyright infringement. The Constitutional Council said, in effect, that given the importance of the Internet, a court approval was needed before denying someone web access.

The court’s decision is a blow to copyright holders, who loved the law and saw its strict measures as a model for cracking down on file sharing. The three strikes law, which passed last month, would have created a new government agency called HADOPI (the Haute Autorité pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des droits sur Internet) that would issue notices (at a copyright holder’s behest) to illegal file sharers. Upon receipt of a third notice, the accused would have been disconnected from Internet access for anywhere from two months to a year and blacklisted from signing up with another ISP. The law would also allow ISPs to be ordered to block certain sites, such as The Pirate Bay.

But the Council put the kibosh on that plan. The New York Times writes:

The council said the proposal was contrary to French constitutional principles, like the presumption of innocence and freedom of speech. The latter right “implies today, considering the development of the Internet, and its importance for the participation in democratic life and the expression of ideas and opinions, the online public’s freedom to access these communication services.”

France’s culture minister said that, based on the court’s decision, the law could be taken back to the French Prime Minister for re-tooling.

French Court Kills Part of Controversial Copyright Law

MEPs back 70-year copyright | Policies | Information society | Media | European Voice

MEPs back 70-year copyright  |  Policies  |  Information society  |  Media | European Voice 

MEPs back 70-year copyright

By Jim Brunsden

23.04.2009 / 20:23 CET

European Parliament's compromise proposal would extend copyright by 20 years.

The European Parliament today voted to extend copyright on music recordings from 50 to 70 years. Supporters say that the extension will protect Europe's creative talent. Opponents argue that it will benefit only major record companies and top-earning performers at the expense of consumers.

The European Commission proposed last year that copyright should be extended to 95 years, but MEPs opted for 70 years to smooth negotiations on the draft legislation with member states. Several national governments have expressed concerns that the Commission's proposal will have negative repercussions.

MEPs voted that record producers should be required to place 20% of the extra revenue they gain from the copyright extension into a fund for session musicians. They also approved a ‘use it or lose it' clause allowing performers to recover their rights to a recording after 50 years if the record label does not market it. 

Charlie McCreevy, the European commissioner for internal market, welcomed the vote. “Talking to the performers, not the superstars, made me realise that something needed to be done,” he said. The Commission has said the extension is needed to “bridge the income gap the performers face when they turn 70”, which it describes as “the most vulnerable period in their lives”.

The IFPI, an international association representing the recording industry, has argued that the current 50-year limit is lower than in many other countries and places Europe at a creative disadvantage.

Jacques Toubon, a French centre-right MEP, said the legislation is needed to “strengthen intellectual property” and support creative talent.

The European Parliament's liberal and green groups have both criticised the outcome of the vote. Caroline Lucas, a UK green MEP, said the extension “will fill the pockets of a limited number of powerful corporations and harm performer rights and artistic creativity”. She added that disc-jockeys who want to use samples from different songs will be “hit by a more restrictive choice of music in the public domain”. Sharon Bowles, a UK liberal, said that the vote “leaves recording companies with the lion's share of everything”.

National governments have yet to reach agreement among themselves on the draft legislation. A diplomat said that Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Slovakia and Romania are all opposed to the extension. A Czech official said that discussions in the Council of Ministers are ongoing, but that a first reading agreement with parliament is unlikely.

MEPs back 70-year copyright  |  Policies  |  Information society  |  Media | European Voice

UK PubMed Central Blog: RCUK - further support for open access

UK PubMed Central Blog: RCUK - further support for open access 

RCUK - further support for open access

Research Councils UK (RCUK) have published an independent study commissioned by the Research Councils into open access to research outputs.
The purpose of the study was to identify the effects and impacts of open access on publishing models and institutional repositories in light of national and international trends. This included the impact of open access on the quality and efficiency of scholarly outputs, specifically journal articles. The report presents options for the Research Councils to consider, such as maintaining the current variation in Research Councils’ mandates, or moving towards increased open access, eventually leading to Gold Standard.

Welcoming the study, Professor Ian Diamond, Chair of the RCUK Executive Group said: "This excellent study sets out a way forward for the UK Research Councils in relation to open access, building on the extensive activities already supported through repositories such as UK PubMed Central and ESRC Society Today. The Research Councils look forward to working with their partners across the research community to consider the options."

In response to the study, the Chief Executives of the Research Councils have agreed that over time the UK Research Councils will support increased open access, by:

• building on their mandates on grant-holders to deposit research papers in suitable repositories within an agreed time period, and;
• extending their support for publishing in open access journals, including through the pay-to-publish model.

UK PubMed Central Blog: RCUK - further support for open access

Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk

Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk

"Same poor musician in the retirement home loosing their income as before -- then why not life of the performer rather than a set time....HSM"

EU lawmaker confident of music copyright deal

By Huw Jones

STRASBOURG, France, April 21 (Reuters) - A deal that will win over a blocking minority among European Union member states and extend copyright for musicians and producers in the EU is close to being agreed, a senior lawmaker said on Tuesday.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has proposed prolonging copyright for musicians and producers to 95 years, from 50 at present, putting them on an equal footing with authors.

Brian Crowley, the Irish lawmaker who is steering the measure through parliament, told Reuters: "I think to get agreement with EU states we have to come down to 70 years, and I think we can get a majority in parliament on that."

Such a deal would ensure that early hits by singers such as Britain's Cliff Richard would remain protected during his lifetime. The European Parliament and EU states have joint say on adopting the measure into law.

"We are hoping to get a first reading deal. I am very confident, as we have taken many of the concerns of member states on board," Crowley said.

"When you look at the human aspect, the arguments are very convincing," he said.

Several countries such as Britain, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have held out against the extension, arguing it would restrict creativity or pull non-copyright material back under copyright rules.

McCreevy has said it was unfair that musicians, particularly session musicians, lose rights after 50 years and face a cash-strapped retirement when authors enjoy protection and continued royalties for much longer.

The rules would also set up a new fund for session musicians. For example, the person who played the cello on the famous Beatles track, Eleanor Rigby, would benefit from the new rules, Crowley said.

"If there is a united voice in parliament, the council (of EU states) will have no other option but to respond in a positive way and endorse the agreement in parliament," Crowley said.

The new rules would also give musicians the same rights as producers.

Parliament will debate the measure on Wednesday evening and holds its vote on Thursday.

"The reality is if we don't get a majority in parliament, then the proposal will ultimately die," Crowley said. (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)

Business Feed Article | Business | guardian.co.uk