France getting a tough copyright law - P2P-Zone

TankGirl · 04-08-06, 09:19 AM

Source: European Digital Rights

The French Constitutional Council ruled on the most controversial copyright and related rights law, known as DADVSI law, concluding that some provisions of the law "violated the constitutional protections of property".

The Council has considered as unconstitutional several provisions adopted by the French Parliament that were meant to balance the initial text which was too much in favour of the industry, thus making the law even stricter.

One of the aspects considered by the Council as against the equality principle was the gradual system in the application of fines for making works available on P2P networks, which was ranging from 38 to 150 euros. Under the circumstances, the penalties remain at the level of 3 years of imprisonment and 300,000 euros in fines.

"By eliminating the reduced penalties, the council put ordinary people sharing music back in the same league as criminal counterfeiters," said Jean-Baptist Soufron, legal director for the Association of Audionautes.

Probably the most severe decision of the Council is related to provisions related to interoperability. Basically the Council considered the government did not define interoperability properly and withdrew interoperability from the DRM circumventions exceptions.

This definitely pleased Apple. Dominique Menard, partner at the Lovells law firm and a specialist in intellectual property said: "The Constitutional Council has highlighted fundamental protections for intellectual property in such a way as to put iTunes a little further from risk of the French law."

The Council changed also some of the provisions adopted by the French Parliament making the creators of file-sharing software and software that could interact with DRM-protected content to be sued by copyright holders, even if the "software is intended for non-copyrighted contents".

The law, which is now stricter than the initial text, will be either promulgated and then published in the Official Journal after which it can enter into force or it can be resubmitted to the Parliament for further discussions.

Nicobie · 05-08-06, 05:27 PM

Hehe

The French already try to control their written word.

What's next, our thoughts?

04-08-06, 09:19 AM	#1
TankGirl Madame Comrade Join Date: May 2000 Location: Area 25 Posts: 5,587	France getting a tough copyright law Source: European Digital Rights The French Constitutional Council ruled on the most controversial copyright and related rights law, known as DADVSI law, concluding that some provisions of the law "violated the constitutional protections of property". The Council has considered as unconstitutional several provisions adopted by the French Parliament that were meant to balance the initial text which was too much in favour of the industry, thus making the law even stricter. One of the aspects considered by the Council as against the equality principle was the gradual system in the application of fines for making works available on P2P networks, which was ranging from 38 to 150 euros. Under the circumstances, the penalties remain at the level of 3 years of imprisonment and 300,000 euros in fines. "By eliminating the reduced penalties, the council put ordinary people sharing music back in the same league as criminal counterfeiters," said Jean-Baptist Soufron, legal director for the Association of Audionautes. Probably the most severe decision of the Council is related to provisions related to interoperability. Basically the Council considered the government did not define interoperability properly and withdrew interoperability from the DRM circumventions exceptions. This definitely pleased Apple. Dominique Menard, partner at the Lovells law firm and a specialist in intellectual property said: "The Constitutional Council has highlighted fundamental protections for intellectual property in such a way as to put iTunes a little further from risk of the French law." The Council changed also some of the provisions adopted by the French Parliament making the creators of file-sharing software and software that could interact with DRM-protected content to be sued by copyright holders, even if the "software is intended for non-copyrighted contents". The law, which is now stricter than the initial text, will be either promulgated and then published in the Official Journal after which it can enter into force or it can be resubmitted to the Parliament for further discussions. __________________ My Blog: Reflections on P2P Revolution

05-08-06, 05:27 PM	#2
Nicobie Registered User Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 5,522	Hehe The French already try to control their written word. What's next, our thoughts? __________________ May your tote always stay tight and your edge eversharp :wink:

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