New technology
Filter by...
-
German library allowed to crack copy protection
The German national library (Deutsche Bibliothek) has negiotated a license with rightholders to legally circumvent copy protection mechanisms on CD-roms, videos, software and E-books. It seems this is the first library in Europe to have managed a voluntary agreement on the strict new anti-circumvention rules prescribed by the EU copyright directive of 2001 (2001/29/EC). Article […]
Read more
-
Provider Tiscali in Belgium forced to disconnect P2P-users
A Brussels court of first instance has ruled on 30 November 2004 that internet provider Tiscali should disconnect customers if they violate copyrights, and block the access for all customers to websites offering file-sharing programs. The case was instituted by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SABAM) on 24 June 2004 with an […]
Read more
-
EDRI response to EU copyright consultation
In answer to a consultation from the European Commission on the review of copyright law EDRI, EDRI-member FIPR and the Vereniging Open-source Nederland have argued for higher standards of user rights. The response was endorsed by twenty organisations. In stead of deleting such provisions from older directives such as 91/250 on Software, 92/100 on Rental […]
Read more
-
EDRI answer to consultation on EU copyright legislation
In October 2004 the European Commission organised a consultation on the review of EU legislation on copyright and related rights. EDRI sent in an evaluation, together with FIPR (UK) and VOSN (NL). The paper is available at: http://www.edri.org/docs/edri_copyright_consultation.pdf In the paper, EDRI argues for higher standards of user rights. The response was endorsed by twenty […]
Read more
-
Workshop report Copyright in Europe
Just before the Commission hearing on DRM, EDRI member FIPR (Foundation for Information Policy Research) organised a 2 day workshop on the future of EU legislation on copyright in Cambridge. In his opening remarks, FIPR chairman Ross Anderson pointed to the ‘big, greedy’ industry interests dominating the discussion about so-called Intellectual Property Rights at present […]
Read more
-
Opinion European Court of Justice: perpetual rights for databases
On 8 June 2004, the European Court of Justice issued an opinion on four (similar) cases regarding the database directive ‘sui generis’ right. The opinion seems to grant perpetual protection to databases, and confirms grave public concerns about the impact of the directive on the use and re-use of online information. Though the opinion of […]
Read more
-
Report about two copyright conferences
The annual ‘New Directions in Copyright’ conference was held 29 and 30 June 2004 at University of London, organised jointly by the Arts and Humanities Research Board and the Birckbeck School of Law. The focus was on legal issues pertaining to recent developments in copyright. The flat fee / compulsory licensing was under serious debate […]
Read more
-
Update on the EU Copyright Directive
Eight Member States were referred by the Commission in December 2003 to the Court of Justice for failure to transpose the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC) into national law. The deadline for implementation was 22 December 2002, but was only met by Greece and Denmark. Italy, Austria, Germany and the UK transposed the Directive into national law […]
Read more
-
Modified Sony PlayStations allowed in Italy
In an important victory for Italian consumer rights, an Italian court has rejected the seizure of Sony PlayStation game consoles that use modified chips to permit unauthorised uses of the game systems. The case is one of the first to be brought in Italy under the new European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD). In December 2003, […]
Read more
-
Norway: no more court cases for DVD-Jon
The case against DVD-Jon (Jon Johansen) finally ended on 5 January 2004, when the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit (Okokrim) confirmed it would not appeal the upholding of his acquittal on copyright charges to the Supreme Court of Norway. DVD-Jon won the first trial on the 6th of January 2003. The Norwegian Okokrim appealed but Jon […]
Read more
-
New report finds problems with EU copyright law
European citizens could find many common activities banned as the EU Copyright Directive becomes law, a new report reveals. Transferring songs from a copy-protected CD to a Walkman or computer could be illegal, as could watching a DVD on a computer running Linux. ‘Implementing the EU Copyright Directive’, published 8 September 2003, reports on legal […]
Read more
-
Campaign against proposed IP Enforcement Directive
An international coalition of 39 civil liberties groups and consumer rights organisations sent a letter to the European Union on 11 August urging rejection of the proposed intellectual property enforcement directive. The coalition warns that the proposed Directive is over-broad and threatens civil liberties, innovation, and competition policy. The proposal requires EU Member States to […]
Read more