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February 9, 2005 · Blogs

EDRI-gram – Number 3.3, 9 February 2005

February 9, 2005

Rapporteur demands co-decision data retention

The rapporteur from the European Parliament on telecommunication data retention, Alexander Alvaro, has presented his first views on the draft framework decision in a turbulent meeting from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). Alvaro proposed on 1 February 2005 to split the proposal in two, and give the European Parliament full […]

February 9, 2005

EP committee wants new software patents proposal

On 2 February 2005 the legal affairs committee of the European Parliament (JURI) voted with an overwhelming majority (19-2) to get rid of the current software patent proposal and start all over again with a new proposal. Only 1 MEP voted against the initiative, and 1 MEP was absent. The former French prime minister Michel […]

February 9, 2005

Two Unesco conferences on internet and human rights

In preparation for the second phase of WSIS, in November 2005 in Tunis, Unesco has organised two conferences on the Internet and human rights. On 3 and 4 February Unesco organised a special meeting on online freedom of expression inside of the Paris headquarters. Attended by over 300 delegates from countries all over the world, […]

February 9, 2005

Article 29 consultations on RFID and DRM

The EU Data Protection Working Party is calling for public comments on two working documents on emerging technologies. One document explores the privacy implications of RFID chips, the other document covers digital management of rights systems (DRM). The RFID document outlines the potential use of RFID technology in various sectors and the need to comply […]

February 9, 2005

Microsoft excludes free software from EU ruling

The Free Software Foundation Europe says Microsoft is blocking Linux, Samba and other major open source projects from taking part in a protocol licensing scheme mandated by the European Commission’s antitrust ruling. If developers want to build the protocols into their products, they must agree not to distribute that product in source-code form, or to […]

February 9, 2005

Romanian Copyright Office sets fixed fee for online music

The Arbitration Commission of the Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA) has published two remarkable decisions on the price for online music and ring-tones. Romanian internet users will have to pay a fixed annual fee for any music they wish to offer on their website (via streaming or for downloading) of approximately 80 euro (3 million Romanian […]

February 9, 2005

Update ISOC Bulgaria

EDRI-member ISOC Bulgaria has published an overview of activities in 2004. From a strong focus on free and open source software, they initiated an important project to use FOSS on the municipal level. The project is steered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to help municipal governments in South-eastern Europe use the Internet to […]

February 9, 2005

Copyright law revision in Switzerland criticised

Civil rights and consumer organisations in Switzerland have severely criticised a proposal to revise the Swiss copyright law. In October 2004 the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property opened a consultation about the revision of the Swiss copyright law and asked for comments until the end of January 2005. The revision mainly concerns the implementation […]

February 9, 2005

3.300 ID fines in the Netherlands in 1 month

In the first month of the new ID obligations in the Netherlands, the Dutch police have issued 3.300 fines to people who could not immediately show a valid ID when asked. According to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, the ID checks mainly take place in specific circumstances. “ID control mostly occurs in situations of disorder […]

February 9, 2005

European countries promise collaboration against spam

The European Commission has issued a press release announcing stronger collaboration between anti-spam enforcement authorities in Europe. “Anti-spam enforcement authorities in 13 European countries have agreed to share information and pursue complaints across borders in a pan-European drive to combat spam. They will co-operate in investigating complaints about cross-border spam from anywhere within the EU, […]

January 28, 2005

Positionspapier von Alexander Alvaro, MdEP

Berichterstatter des Europäischen Parlaments zu dem Entwurf eines Rahmenbeschlusses über die Vorratsspeicherung von Daten, die in Verbindung mit der Bereitstellung öffentlicher elektronischer Kommunikationsdienste verarbeitet und aufbewahrt werden, oder von Daten, die in öffentlichen Kommunikationsnetzen vorhanden sind, für die Zwecke der Vorbeugung, Untersuchung, Feststellung und Verfolgung von Straftaten, einschließlich Terrorismus (Ratsdokument 8958/04) ”Note: This is a […]