September 26, 2012

EU Parliament approves directive on orphan works

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [EU-Parlament verabschiedet Richtlinie über verwaiste Werke | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_10.18_EU-Parlament_verabschiedet_Richtlinie_ueber_verwaiste_Werke?pk_campaign=twun&pk_kwd=20121008] On 13 September 2012, the EU Parliament approved the draft legislation on orphan works proposed in 2011, completed by the EU Parliament and Council compromise in June 2012. The European Commission issued an Impact Assessment in 2011 accompanying the proposal […]

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June 4, 2014 · Blogs

Torrenz.eu suspended, but restored in absence of court order

Torrentz.eu, one of the most popular search engines for file-sharing websites, was taken offline on for linking to contents that infringe copyright. The site was taken down by the Poland-based registrar of its domain on 26 May 2014, after it had received a request from by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) in the […]

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July 20, 2016 · Blogs

Copyfail #9: Digital Rights Management (DRM): Restricting lending and borrowing books and music in digital format

This article is the ninth in the series presenting Copyfails. The EU is reforming its copyright rules. We want to introduce you to the main failures of the current copyright system, with suggestions on how to fix them. You can find all the Copyfails here. How has it failed? We are able to lend book […]

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January 13, 2010

Spanish Government proposes new legislation against file-sharing

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Spanische Regierung beschließt neues Gesetz gegen Filesharer | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1648] The Spanish Government passed on 8 January 2010 the Law for Sustainable Economy which includes the creation of an Intellectual Property Commission (IPC) that will be in charge with filing complaints with a judge in cases of alleged illegal […]

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June 20, 2007

European Visa Information System accepted by the EU bodies

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) The legislative package on the Visa Information System (VIS) was adopted by the European Parliament and a political agreement was reached within the Justice and Home Affairs Council in the last couple of weeks. This means that the final steps have been adopted to create the biggest […]

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July 2, 2008

The US-EU agreement on personal data exchange by law enforcement

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) As stated by the New York Times on 26 June 2008, the United States and the European Union are close to conclude an agreement allowing the exchange of personal data of their citizens, including credit card information, travel history and Internet browsing information in order to be […]

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July 16, 2008

Vote in the EP committees on the Telecom Package

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) The IMCO (Internal Market Committee) and ITRE (Committee on Industry, Research and Energy) committees of the European Parliament (EP) adopted on the 7 July 2008 the Telecom package, including the amendments that were considered by some NGOs as endangering the principle of the neutrality of the Internet. […]

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January 12, 2011

RapidShare wins another alleged copyright infringement case

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [RapidShare gewinnt einen weiteren Fall angeblicher Urheberrechtsverletzung | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2497] RapidShare, the Swiss based file-hosting service, won the appeal against the computer game distributor Atari Europe. In March 2010, Düsseldorf Regional Court ruled that the company had not taken sufficient measures to hinder the distribution of the computer game […]

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September 9, 2015 · Blogs

Journalists detained in Turkey for using encryption

On 27 August, a British journalist and a cameraman working for Vice News, a news channel that broadcasts in-depth documentaries about current subjects, and their fixer were detained in Turkey while reporting in Diyarbakir, the main city of the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeastern region. At the beginning of September, the three men were charged by […]

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July 30, 2008

University researcher may publish their findings on NXP Mifare chip

On 18 July 2008, the Dutch Court in Nijmegen dismissed the initial claim in its preliminary ruling in the case of Chip maker NXP against the publication by the University of Nijmegen of the security problems regarding Mifare Classic Chip, dismissing the initial claim. NXP had asked the judge to order the University of Nijmegen […]

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September 23, 2015 · Blogs

AVG starts selling personal data to third parties

The Czech Republic based security software vendor AVG Technologies recently updated its privacy policy. The objective of the changes, according to the company, was to explain in a more transparent manner to their users how it intends to use what it calls ”non-personal information”. The new privacy policy will take effect on 15 October 2015. […]

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August 27, 2008

Problems with online FoI in the Georgia-Russia conflict

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) The conflict between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia region has extended to Internet, both countries having launched cyber-attacks and blocking each other’s broadcasting sites. Georgian authorities have blocked access to Russian news broadcasters and websites, the action being justified by Georgia’s Interior Ministry with the argument […]

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