Group items tagged

by Mike Masnick Wed, Jun 1st 2011 " ...the bill tries to also define what constitutes a potential felony crime in these circumstances: the offense consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works So yeah. If you embed a YouTube video that turns out to be infringing, and more than 10 people view it because of your link... you could be facing five years in jail. This is, of course, ridiculous, and suggests (yet again) politicians who are regulating a technology they simply do not understand. Should it really be a criminal act to embed a YouTube video, even if you don't know it was infringing...? This could create a massive chilling effect to the very useful service YouTube provides in letting people embed videos."

Not "News" per se (June 1st) but source of ongoing other discussions, e.g. in gaming sites

Reference: MEMO/11/333 Date: 24/05/2011 "What does the proposal for a Directive on orphan works say? The Commission's proposal, which takes the form of an EU Directive, rests on three pillars. First, the proposal contains rules on how to identify orphan works. It provides that the user has to conduct a diligent search to find the copyright holder. In this search, the user should rely on sources such as databases and registries. One such tool that exists in the book publishing sector is ARROW, the Accessible Registry of Rights Information and Orphan Works. It is hoped that other sectors will also develop similar central rights information databases. Doing so would greatly simplify and streamline the conduct of a reliable diligent search. Secondly, the proposal establishes that if the diligent search does not yield the identity or location of the copyright holder, the work shall be recognised as an orphan work. This status shall then, by virtue of mutual recognition, be valid across the European Union. This implies that once a work is recognised as an orphan work, it shall be recognised as such across the European Union. The proposal also foresees that there will be a generally accessible record of all recognised orphan works. Thirdly, the proposal establishes the uses that can be made of the orphan works and the conditions for such uses depending on their nature. Thus, the current proposal should make a major contribution to the development of various European digital library initiatives and their accessibility for everyone throughout the European Union. Clear rules on what works can be posted online as orphan works will also provide the beneficiaries of the Directive - not only libraries, museums and archives but also film heritage institutions and public service broadcasters - with a sound legal framework that safeguards them against claims of copyright infringement. In this respect, a degree of legal certainty can be achieved that will exceed the one th

-> piece on British Library + Google and this EC directive?

"VW: The Dark SIde Volkswagen opposes key European laws that we need if we're going to save our planet from climate change. But all is not lost. We feel the good in Volkswagen. Tagged with change, climate, co2, darkside, greenpeace, vw, vwdarkside July 01, 2011" Video taken down from YT, then from vimeo, due to a copyright infringement claim from George Lucas Films.

Again, not news (dated July 1 2011) but currently discussed elsewhere; see http://governancexborders.com/2011/07/01/the-dark-side-of-copyrights-force-lucasarts-v-youtube-v-greenpeace-v-vw/ for context.

"@webfoundation Web Foundation UN report: "ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states" http://tinyurl.com/UN-Net-Right 7 Jun [2011] via web"

From the linked "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue" (dated May 16, 2011): "...D. Disconnecting users from Internet access, including on the basis of violations of intellectual property rights law 49. While blocking and filtering measures deny access to certain content on the Internet, States have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned by discussions regarding a centralized "on/off" control over Internet traffic.33 In addition, he is alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights. This also includes legislation based on the concept of "graduated response", which imposes a series of penalties on copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service, such as the so-called "three- strikes-law" in France34 and the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom.35 50. Beyond the national level, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has been proposed as a multilateral agreement to establish international standards on intellectual property rights enforcement. While the provisions to disconnect individuals from Internet access for violating the treaty have been removed from the final text of December 2010, the Special Rapporteur remains watchful about the treaty's eventual implications for intermediary liability and the right to freedom of expression....."