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List:       dmca-discuss
Subject:    [DMCA_Discuss] Another WIN! Euro DMCA Fails
From:       "Jon O." <jono () networkcommand ! com>
Date:       2002-12-23 19:37:50
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http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/02/12/23/1424213.shtml?tid=158

Kr3m3Puff writes "Looks like the Euro DMCA has failed according to Yahoo! It seems \
that only two member nations had adopted the local law and therfore the Euro wide law \
will not be adopted. The BSA is complaining they have no protections."


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=581&e=4&cid=581&u=/nm/20021223/tc_nm/tech_internet_copyright_dc


Technology - Reuters 
 
Deadline Passes for European Digital Copyright Law
Mon Dec 23, 7:10 AM ET  Add Technology - Reuters to My Yahoo! 
 
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent 

LONDON (Reuters) - A deadline for adopting a new EU law on copyright protection has \
passed with just two member countries signing up, dealing a blow to media and \
software companies beset by unauthorized duplication of their works across the \
Internet. 

"It's a bit disappointing," Francisco Mingorance, European policy director for the \
Business Software Alliance (BSA) trade group told Reuters on Monday. "Obviously, this \
will delay the process." 

The deadline for implementing the European Union (news - web sites)'s Copyright \
Directive, a broad set of laws designed to better protect the distribution of film, \
music and software across the Internet and onto digital devices such as mobile \
phones, was Sunday night. 

Just Greece and Denmark have adopted the directive into local law, officials said. 

With hopes dashed of having a strong copyright law in place for the start of 2003, \
media and software companies complain that they are largely unprotected from digital \
piracy, an activity they see as the biggest threat to their future. The BSA, a global \
body that counts among its members Apple Computer, Microsoft Corp, and Intel Corp, \
estimates the European software industry loses three billion euros ($3.09 billion) \
annually due to unauthorized duplication of its products. 

The music and film industries have been hit hard too, particularly by the growth of \
online file-sharing networks Kazaa and Grokster that enable consumers to copy and \
trade all manner of copyright-protected materials for free. 

DASHED HOPES 

The EU passed the directive in April. At the time it was seen as a big victory for \
copyright holders who wanted existing laws modernized to ensure they would be \
compensated for the digital distribution of their works. 

The directive was seemingly bolstered by two treaties drafted earlier this year by \
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which sought to extend similar \
copyright protection across 30 nations in Europe, North America and Asia. 

The software, film and music industries have been lobbying lawmakers all year in each \
of the member states to move quickly to adopt the more aggressive copyright \
protections. 

The industries argue that the lack of a coherent approach to protecting intellectual \
property in the digital environment has led to the rise of a black market in pirated \
material. 

HITTING SNAGS 

The industry lobbyists have not convinced politicians that technological stop-gaps \
such as rights management tools, which would ensure a copyright holder is compensated \
each time his song is downloaded onto a mobile phone or a computer hard drive, would \
work or are necessary. 

Other actors in the private sector, such as Internet service providers, have weighed \
in heavily on the issue, opposing laws that could ultimately hurt consumer rights. 

The United Kingdom's Patent Office issued a statement on its Web site saying it was \
still considering a variety of view points on the matter and would endeavor to \
implement the directive by March 31, 2003. 

"The sheer volume of replies, together with the fact that many presented detailed \
arguments and suggestions for alternative drafting, mean that the present analysis \
will not be completed quickly," the statement read. 

Mingorance at the BSA said it may be months before any EU-wide law goes into effect. \
"I'm hopeful that before the summer it will be adopted, or at least before the end of \
next year, but then that will be very late." 


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