Campaign for Digital Rights responds to patent office paper; Plans protests at party conferences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2002

Press Contact: Julian T. J. Midgley <jtjm@uk.eurorights.org>
               Phone: +44 7713 166000

CAMPAIGN FOR DIGITAL RIGHTS RESPONDS TO PATENT OFFICE PAPER
PLANS PROTESTS AT PARTY CONFERENCES

On the 7th August the UK Patent Office released a consultation paper
detailing its plans to implement the European copyright directive. CDR
believes that this legislation is flawed and will have disastrous
effects on British research, innovation, music recording studios and
software development.

Julian Midgley has produced a paper detailing our objections and
proposing some solutions. It is available at:
http://uk.eurorights.org/issues/eucd/ukimpl/

None of the three main political parties has yet expressed an opinion
on this issue. We intend to hold a series of peaceful demonstrations
outside each of the party conferences to bring it to the attention of
delegates and members of the public. Anyone is welcome to join
us. Full details of the planned event are on our website
(http://uk.eurorights.org/). Here is a summary:


Liberal Democrats Conference, Brighton
-------------------------------------
Protest on Monday 22nd September from 12:30 PM outside the Brighton Centre.
More information:
http://www.libdems.org.uk/index.cfm/page.general/section.conference

Labour Conference, Blackpool
----------------------------
Protest on Sunday 29th September from 1:00 PM outside the Winter
Gardens Theatre. More information:
http://www.labour.org.uk/conference2002/


Conservative Party Conference, Bournemouth
------------------------------------------
Protest on Sunday 6th October from 1:00 PM outside the Bournemouth
International Centre. More information:
http://www.conservatives.com/conference/2002info.cfm

Background
----------



The Campaign for Digital Rights
-------------------------------

The UK Campaign for Digital Rights has formed to ensure that by the
time that the EUCD is passed into law, it has been revised to the
extent that it no longer threatens academic research or the public's
ability to make fair use of electronic books, music and videos.

It is important to stress that we respect absolutely the principal of
copyright; many of our members are programmers and authors whose works
enjoy the traditional protections of copyright - we do not condone
copyright infringement in any form.  However, we firmly believe that
by making the circumvention of copy protection mechanisms a crime,
laws such as the DMCA and EUCD threaten legitimate academic research
and the work of respectable computer programmers.  Furthermore, by
effectively prohibiting discussion of the weaknesses of particular
copy protection schemes, these laws practically guarantee that copy
protection mechanisms will be weak and easily broken, to the detriment
of the very authors and musicians whose work they are designed to
protect.

The Campaign for Digital Rights is working together with industry,
academics, the Foundation for Information Policy Research
(http://www.fipr.org/), and similar organisations throughout Europe
and America.  For more information, mailing lists, et al, see:
http://uk.eurorights.org/

-- 
Julian T. J. Midgley                      http://www.xenoclast.org/
Cambridge, England.                          PGP Key ID: 0xBCC7863F