Euro DMCA Drive Wilts!

[Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@RealMeasures.dyndns.org>]

(Forwarded from DMCA Discussion list.  -- Seth)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [DMCA_Discuss] Another WIN! Euro DMCA Fails
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 11:37:50 -0800
From: "Jon O." <jono@networkcommand.com>
Reply-To: "jono@networkcommand.com"
<jono@networkcommand.com>
To: dmca_discuss@lists.microshaft.org


> 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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