Collecting societies
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EU report recommends open access to publicly funded scientific research
The EU report drafted by economists from Toulouse University and the Free University of Brussels on the economic and technical evolution of scientific publishing in Europe, published on 31 March 2006, recommends public access to scientific research funded by the European taxpayer. The report proposes the development of a European policy that would allow researchers […]
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Debate on the revision of Swiss copyright law
On April 6, the Swiss copyright office launched a discussion on the proposal for the revision of the copyright law in Switzerland at its media event in Berne. The Swiss copyright office presented a pocket guide as well as a website and commented on the most important changes. The primary goal of the copyright revision […]
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Access to Knowledge in the digital world
From 21 June to 23 June, Yale Law School hosted the first international “Access to Knowledge” (A2K) conference. Following two workshops on the same theme held in 2005 in Geneva and London, the aim of this conference was to “come up with a new analytic framework for analysing the possibly distortive effects of public policies […]
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German music industry wants new powers
Representatives of the German music industry asked for new powers in order to obtain, without court order, personal information about alleged file-sharers from Internet Service Providers. In a recent event held in Munich by the Institute of Copyright and Media Law, representatives of the rights holder associations claimed that this change would improve the fight […]
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Legal actions against file-sharers in Europe
About 2000 new legal actions are taken in 10 countries by the International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) against file-sharers amounting now to a total number of 5500 cases outside US. IFPI persists in its actions against uploaders, stating it targets persistent file-sharers, who typically upload thousands of music files. “The campaign started in major […]
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Creative Commons license upheld in Dutch and Spanish courts
Both in The Netherlands and in Spain the Creative Commons license was judged in court. In both cases the validity of this alternative copyright license was upheld. In the Netherlands, the first court case about the validity of the Creative Commons license produced clear victory for the user of the license. On 9 March 2006 […]
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TACD debate on the politics and ideology of intellectual property
Civil society groups from around the world met in Brussels 20/21 March to discuss the politics and ideology of intellectual property. Speakers included representatives from WIPO and the EU, former US Patent Commissioner Bruce Lehman, consumer and development campaigners and noted IP academics Peter Drahos and Susan Sell. The conference tried to step back from […]
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What's so special about French EUCD transposition?
With its succession of coups de theatre, the pathetic show of the French EUCD transposition (DADVSI draft law) is going on. After the surprising adoption, on Christmas Eve, of an amendment legalising the exchange of music and video files on the Internet as private copies, compensated by a monthly fee (‘global license’) collected by ISPs […]
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Commission considers Microsoft still not compliant with EC Treaty
The European Commission sent a letter to Microsoft on 10 March 2006 stating Microsoft was still not compliant with the EC Treaty rules on abuse of dominant position. In March 2004, The Commission ordered Microsoft to disclose complete and accurate interface documentation, which would allow non-Microsoft workgroup servers to achieve full interoperability with Windows PCs […]
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Discussions continue on a development agenda for WIPO
A first session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda took place on 20-24 February 2006 in Geneva to discuss about proposals for a development agenda. EDRI was present during the meeting in its new role as officially acknowledged observer. The WIPO Development Agenda is a far-reaching proposal that was […]
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New Italian IT legislation limits civil rights
The Italian parliament has caused controversy by two new legislative acts. A newly adopted law against child abuse gives overly broad powers to the police, while a proposed new law on the protection of intellectual property gives too much leeway to organisations for collective rights management. On 23 January 2006 the Italian Parliament approved a […]
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European Commission starts antitrust procedure against CISAC
The European Commission has decided to open formal proceedings against the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and its individual national members and has sent them a Statement of Objections, as a first step in antitrust investigations The Commission objects to parts of the contracts closed amongst national authors and composers societies. […]
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