French p2p file sharing law
p2p news / p2pnet: The Big Four record labels are fighting tooth and nail to kill the French decision to make it legal to share music and movies online.
MPs, who’ve already voted once on the matter, will debate it again next week and if they confirm the earlier decision, turning it into law, France will become the first country to make it legal to share copyrighted music online.
"The surprise vote caused outrage among record companies and film producers, who say illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) copying costs their industries millions of euros every year," says the BBC. "It was an embarrassing defeat for the government, which had planned to introduce large fines and possible jail terms of up to three years for internet pirates.
"Seventeen year old Aziz Ridouan became so angry at the number of people already being taken to court that he started up his own pressure group.
"Today, the Audiosurfers Association has 6,000 members. It campaigns for a change in the law and helps defend those being prosecuted."
Socialist MP Patrick Bloche, who helped draft the amendment, argues, "Rather than outlawing, punishing, and paradoxically maintaining to a certain extent an illegal system. Let’s make a different choice: authorising peer-to-peer downloading, but in return, putting in place a system allowing artists to be paid."
Then the Big Four, Vivendi Universal (France), EMI, (Britain), Sony BMG (Japan, Germany) and Warner Music (US) pulled their well-worn trick of mobilising contracted performers such Johnny Hallyday, "to protest, arguing that revenue from a global licence wouldn’t compensate for the millions they say they risk losing through falling CD sales," says the story.
Nonetheless, "The MPs’ vote in December sent the government scuttling off to redraft its bill," says the BBC. "It has since spent two months in consultations with artists, industry representatives and internet users to try to reach a compromise. More than 13,000 musicians signed a petition in favour of the global licence. A website set up to encourage a debate on P2P copying was inundated with replies."
France’s latest plan still rejects global licensing, "although it agrees that private copying should be allowed," and, "The sanctions for illegal copying have been reduced considerably, with fines beginning at 38 euros (£26, about $46) ) for small-scale piracy."
Meanwhile, people in France aren’t entitled to make personal copies of DVDs, even if they don’t distribute them, France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation in Paris, has ruled, overturning an earlier decision by a lower court.
Also See:
make it legal – Colins ‘Testify’ French DRM ban, January 29, 2006
BBC – French MPs vote on digital piracy, March 3, 2006
aren’t entitled – France quashes DRM ruling, March 3, 2006
March 5th, 2006 at 12:27 am
The new law project is just silly :
- 38 euros ($45) fines for downloading copyrighted stuff but 750 euros ($820) for breaking a DRM : Better download illegally than legally if you want to use your music even if you change your computer !
- Fair use WILL be guaranted by the law. It will however be limited. The limit can be set at zero copies (like for the DVDs). In other words, fair use won’t be forbidden, you will only be allowed to use this right zero times… Silly !
Don’t forget that in france, we have a blank media levy to compensate the “losses” due to fair use… Of course, that levy won’t get lifted, even if the fair use right will be set at zero copies.
Those politicians should think about two things :
- In one year, we’ll have presidential and legislative elections.
- There are an estimated 10.000.000 filesharers in France (out of a 62.000.000 total population). By far enough to make the election…
March 6th, 2006 at 3:05 am
Instead of letting Folks Advertise in MP3 (Compressed & Low Quality Format), generally MP3 sucks anyway, it’s not one of the best sounding Formats! Generally, the best one closest to CD Quality, [is the CD!!!]
So, the Idiots (RIAA & their Supporters like suing $$$ those who Advertise their Compressed, Low Quality Tunes Product, in an attempt to Brainwash the Masses into believing, portraying these poor People as Pirates & Criminals!
Greedy Organisations must be Punished!!
The only REAL EVIL is, making Money of someone else work, obviously that’s just Plain wrong… (Esp. without Permission)
Those who’re into doing that, are the the REAL Criminals & Pirates!!!
Danny
March 8th, 2006 at 2:40 am
As I guessed, the governement used all its power to overturn this law.
Sorry, France hasn’t become the P2P Eldorado.
But all DMCA lovers will love our country with the ultra-restrictive DRM laws they’ll vote tomorrow.
Christian Vanneste, rapporter of the law said in the parliament that “DRM are required to identify the authors of an artwork and therefore that DRM are required to sell music online”. Strange, existing P2P networks’s search engines identify quite well the available tracks and reply to your query quite accurately.
And once you know what the downloaded track is, an appropriate database could also tell you who it’s author is… No need of DRM for that !
Next steps :
- Massive information of the mainstream audiance about what DRM are
- Boycott of all DRMed stuff (already underway)
- Make DRM & file sharing a major issue of 2007’s presidential race.
We’ve lost a battle, but we won’t lose the war !