April 9, 2014 · Blogs

Commission opens investor-to-state dispute settlement consultation

The EU Commission has published a public consultation on modalities for investment protection and on investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the EU – US trade negotiations (TTIP / TAFTA). ISDS is the most controversial aspect of these negotiations. The ISDS mechanism gives multinationals the right to sue states before special tribunals if changes in law […]

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April 25, 2007

New anti-racism documents on the European agenda

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) After six years of debates in trying to reach an agreement, the European Council will adopt a Framework decision that makes incitement to racism and xenophobia a crime in all the EU members states. At the same time, five MEPs promoted a declaration that asks for an […]

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June 16, 2016 · Blogs

Copyfail #4: Authors not getting a fair remuneration

This article is the fourth in the series presenting Copyfails. The EU is reforming its copyright rules. We want to introduce to you 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? When discussing reforming copyright, usually the […]

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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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July 15, 2015 · Blogs

ICANN considers banning privacy services

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is proposing a new Internet policy which comes at the expense of human rights, especially privacy and freedom of speech. The proposed rules are addressed to companies that provide WHOIS privacy/proxy services (which restrict access to domain registrant information) and limit their availability to individuals only, […]

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January 14, 2009

France: ARMT was useless

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) At the end of December 2008 it was publicly presented the first yearly report of the French Authority for Regulations of the DRMs (Autorité de régulation des mesures techniques – ARMT) that should have ensured the interoperability of the DRM systems and allow the private copies. This […]

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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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June 18, 2008

British ISPs warn Internet downloaders on the risk of being prosecuted

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) As a continuation of the actions started in March 2008, and despite opinions that ISPs should not act as an Internet police, the major British record labels represented by British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Virgin Media, UK’s largest provider of home broadband, have joint forces in a […]

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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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