p2pnet - rss feed: EU passes ‘anti-piracy’ laws
p2pnet.net News:- The heavily criticized Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive has been passed 330 to 151 with 39 abstentions by the European Union assembly.
It will, “allow recording industry executives to privately invade the homes of P2P file-sharers in order to gather evidence for civil prosecutions,” says IP Justice executive director Robin Gross.
Yesterday, consumers, artists and representatives of civil liberties groups from across Europe staged a protest outside the EU Parliament in Strasnourg, France.
“Prosecuting fans who share music files in order to prevent piracy is like outlawing sex to prevent pregnancy,” says Michael Franti, leader of hip-hop band Spearhead.
“I do not support the spirit of this legislation because it does more to punish fans than it does to help artists and labels adjust to the expansive future of the electronic revolution. Fans, labels and artists alike are going to need to make changes in the way we buy, sell and market music, but the draconian nature of these laws is more of an attack on civil liberties than it is a solution to the changing times we are living in.”
The EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive - first proposed in January, 2003 - was fast-tracked, thanks to French MEP and the directive’s Rapporteur Janelly Fourtou who pushed its adoption through a rarely used ‘First Reading’ emergency procedure, rather than permit it to be fully debated in the usual ‘Second Reading’ procedure, says CODE (Campaign for an Open Digital Environment) here.
By an amazing coincidence, Fourtou is married to Vivendi Universal chief Jean-Rene Fourtou, one of the companies that will directly profit from this proposal’s adoption.
“Under the bill, counterfeiters could face civil penalties, including seizure of property and bank accounts, if they were found guilty by national courts,” says a Reuters report here.
Proposals for criminal sanctions were dropped from an earlier version, to the disappointment of the Washington-based Business Software Alliance which represents Microsoft, Intel and Apple, among others.
March 10th, 2004 at 3:55 am
HOW DARE THEY!!!! They have NO RIGHT to implement such a restrictive law. F*** the business and concerntrate on the public domain. That’s where everything belongs.