p2pnet - rss feed: French Digital Restrictions
p2p news / p2pnet: Creating your own compilations from a CD; extracting your favourite track to listen to it on your computer; transferring it onto an mp3 player; lending a CD to a friend; reading a DVD with free software or duplicating it to be able to enjoy it at home and in your country house - common practices, at the moment perfectly legal in France.
But the French government plans to forbid them all. In fact, the Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society Bill - DADVSI (n°1206 in the French legal code) - currently making its way through the French National Assembly, is worrying a number of groups in France, from p2p users to webcasters and free software designers.
They’re particularly concerned that the French government seems to be trying to force it through in a hurry, with the crucial vote probably slated for December 23, the day before Christmas is celebrated in France and a day most legislators are expected to absent themselves.
In addition to killing off the right to private copying, the DADVSI bill would also make the simple act of reading a DVD with software that’s not authorized by the DVD editor punishable with up to a three-year jail sentence and a fine of 300,000 euros. Such a scenario would be considered an instance of copyright infringement.
The act of converting to mp3 format a "protected [proprietary]" file downloaded from the FNAC website [FNAC is a major book and media retail concern] is also considered infringement, as is the publishing of technical information (such as source code) allowing or making it easier to perform such conversions. In this way, the DADVSI bill prohibits the design, distribution and use of free software that would allow accessing protected work. If the bill is approved in its present state, it’ll be illegal to use software such VLC or any other multimedia player using the DeCSS algorithm, which will be forbidden.
Knowingly bringing to light, directly or indirectly, a software tool which might allow one to bypass DRM devices is also punished, whether or not the main purpose of such a tool is to bypass copyright protection.
Freedom of expression, not only of free-software authors, but also of computer security researchers, academics and journalists, is thus directly threatened.
Interestingly, while DADVSI is based on the European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD), the EU directive itself doesn’t require this, possibly because it leaves the door open to censorship.
French software authors can thank an amendment initiated by Vivendi Universal/SACEM/BSA/FT Division Contenus for this development.
Vivendi is, of course, a member of the infamous Big Four Organized Music family, the others being Sony BMG (Japan, Germany), EMI (Britain) and Warner Music (US).
Disclosing, directly or indirectly, the existence of a tool or a method which allows one to remove or alter information attached to a digital copy of a document to trace it’s usage is also punished by law. So from tomorrow onwards, you could risk a three-year jail sentence for publishing a study that shows a digital signature method used by the recording industry to be ineffective.
DMCA, anyone?
With regard to web radios, "Fréquence Electro", a media work group of the Technopol Paris association, as well as several non-commercial webcasters, including Electrone, Let’s Go Zik, and Radio 404, are worrying how this will affect their sector. Under DADVSI, they’ll be obliged to broadcast with technologies containing DRM, principally Real Player and Windows Media.
Apart from anything else, these kinds of formats are very expensive because of licensing costs, which means most independent web radios in France will be financially incapable of complying with the proposed law.
But that to one side, it seems counterproductive for France to impose technologies provided by two companies which are monopolizing the worldwide market of DRM services, while on the other hand the European Union is trying to bust Microsoft’s domination.
Moreover, the bill could further divide French society between those who have access to digital information and those who don’t, given that for the first time, authors, editors and producers will be able to deny private copying to those who haven’t bought the appropriate user license.
In concrete terms, these conditions change the right to read into an exclusive right since usage control software, by its very nature, uses access control mechanisms. And without access, you can’t read.
In fact, only users who can afford to purchase a user license will be able to read an original or private copy, even though the right to access published work or the right to read don’t depend on the author’s monopoly.
Stay tuned.
(Compiled from French and English sources by Liz Newton. Also, thanks to X in France.)
http://eucd.info/index.php?2005/12/04/202-dadvsi-what-s-the-trouble
http://eucd.info/index.php?English-readers
http://www.echosdunet.net/news/index.php?id_news=1652
http://www.echosdunet.net/news/index.php?id_news=1643
http://linuxfr.org/2005/12/04/20001.html
December 6th, 2005 at 9:46 pm
Many people, including me, made a comment to Jon about the spoof article linked to http://p2pnet.net/story/7167 Little did we know, that the ruling regime in France may very well make it a reality. I have talked about the FreeWan and many other ways to hide from abusive authorities. Now, I’m beginning to think that only hiding behind alternative networks is not the answer. The answer is to start fighting back. I only wish that the rioters in Paris would have stuck strictly to vandalizing only government property. It seems that neither governments or large business repect our property rights. Look at what is happening in Rivera Beach, Florida. It looks like big business and their clients are better suited to have a nice view than the people who worked all of their lives to purchase their property. The government of Rivera Beach is going to do the stealing for the developers.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051003-122623-2136r.htm
The P.S.A. (United States) is as Communist as Red China. It no longer respects or protects the property rights of its citizens. The people of the P.S.A. and especially Rivera beach need to rise up and defend their property. If I were these people, I would make it so that it would cost the developer at least several billion dollars to clear the land and put their stupid yatch club up. I am surprised that it is safe for that mayor and his goons to even go home for the night. That is a big problem with Americans, they let themselves be bullied around by their government too much, and then they stick up for the same government that did the bullying. I’d be really shocked if America lasts even another 15 years.
December 7th, 2005 at 12:05 am
Some days ago, when I spoke about this on those formus here on p2pnet.net, many tought I was making fun of them by publishing an obvious hoax.
Now you can see that, unfortunately, it wasn’t a Hoax…
December 7th, 2005 at 12:08 am
More, and even worse here :
http://www.fsffrance.org/news/article2005-11-25.en.html
December 7th, 2005 at 8:16 am
Well UK do things little differently from those over pond next door. But this is way UK goverment like to use to get things thought parlomont in the end.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/05/uk_intellectual_property_rights_review/
PS. Why or why did we have dig a tunal between us, English must of had something put in to there tea!
December 7th, 2005 at 10:33 am
If you notice, these sort of tactics are being deployed rather regularly. Always going through in a flat hurry without due consideration by those henchmen of the cartels to hurry and protect the goods. So far not many legislators have said “Wait a minute, lets talk of what this is going to do for our future.”
This is setting up a minefield that will be a goldmine for the barristers and large corporations but the little guy is always left out. It isn’t just the corportations that have domain over figuring things out and making both new products, new music, and new methods. One has only to look at DVDJohn to find out that individuals can contribute quite readily to the information of world knowledge. Without efforts such as his, the cartels would be in no where near the rush to get it done. This sort of bill will kill not only someone figuring out how tos that help everyone but it will also kill innovation within this one country in the process.
Those third world countries are soon to be the leaders where they have yet to implement such draconian methods of control. You and I will be hard press to buy an $80 pair of jeans on minimum wages. None of these worldwide corporations are thinking down the road when it comes to considering whose going to buy what. They are thinking they got it locked up and if you want to buy you are going to buy from them. Instead most folks will look at their paycheck and figure out it simply isn’t going far enough. Goodwill and second hand stores will become the main way of buying instead and the corporations that are instigating these sort of tactics will simply move to the better market. At some point all these better markets are going to dry up. At that time the governments will figure out they certainly made some serious mistakes but it will be far to late to help us.
Copyright and patent insanity has hit the global market full blown and those that were saying they were glad they weren’t in the US are either singing another tune or will be when it comes to see them. It is time for the penduleum to swing the other way before it is far to late to do so. Boycott your butts off folks, it is one sure way to tell those corporations you don’t like it and won’t have it. Tell them to peddle their wares elsewhere.
December 7th, 2005 at 10:35 am
The tunnel was a french idea, same as decimal and the euro thing.
guy called napoleon something..may have been corsican, but for some reason thought being french was better:)
Bri
December 7th, 2005 at 11:35 am
Plus, as I understand it, it is a civil offence in the UK to rip a CD to mp3 anyway.
December 7th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
There are so many companies now involved in dishonest and unethical practices that we need to essentially boycott just about every major corporation. I know that I do not buy anything unless I absolutely have to, and even then, I try to buy seconhand. I watched on the lamescream “news” about some t-shirt with the words, “Stop Snitchin” printed on it. I have found the perfect product that can be made easily at home. Since the government has billied the manufacturer of this garment to stop selling it, I will make it myself if I want it.
December 7th, 2005 at 8:54 pm
You are French and against this new Law ?
Sign the eucd.info petition : http://eucd.info/petitions/index.php?petition=2
More info about it (in english) :
http://eucd.info/index.php?English-readers
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Now it comes in French
(You know, us frenchmen and foreign languages…)
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Vous êtes Français et contre cette nouvelle loi ?
Signez la pétition eucd.info :
http://eucd.info/petitions/index.php?petition=2
Plus d’infos disponibles (en français) sur http://eucd.info