French file sharers in danger
p2pnet.net News:- If new entertainment cartel DRM legislation in France goes through, file sharers will face massive fines and heavy jail sentences.
France’s Constitutional Council has raised concerns and removed key measures from the "long awaited" copyright bill, says Billboard.
The council, responsible for making sure legislative proposals comply with the national constitution before they become law, "has removed the clause that grants individuals the right to bypass digital rights management (DRM) protection systems from the bill," says the story.
Legislating for such a measure, "would require a more precise definition of the concept of interoperability of different DRM technologies, plus the introduction of an independent body to regulate DRM issues," it stated.
This means p2p "copyright infringers" are still in line for fines of up to €300,000 (about $382,217) and sentences of up to three years in jail, Billboard goes on, saying it’s a blow for France’s culture minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres who’d, "wanted to use the bill to fine P2P counterfeiters just a few euros," and "put an end to disproportionate penalties such as sending an Internet user to jail".
France could ask for for another parliamentary debate but, "sources indicate that it will probably accept the changes made by the Constitutional Council and pass the text into law – a move that will make French law compliant with European Union’s current copyright directive," adds the story.
The controversy is based on, "some myth that this law was misappropriating some property right that Apple has when, in fact, it’s Apple that’s circumventing the property rights of its hardware customers," says Digital Copyright Canada’s Russell McOrmond.
(Thanks, Rob)
Also See:
Billboard – French Council: Individuals Can’t Bypass DRM, July 31, 2006
some myth – Apple, French law, and iPod, July 31, 2006
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