EU IP enforcement directive advances [LWN.net]

EU IP enforcement directive advances

Posted Feb 26, 2004 9:34 UTC (Thu) by hingo (guest, #14792)
Parent article: EU IP enforcement directive advances

This directive has been said to be "DMCA-like" but when I read the stuff from FFII I find that their concerns are slightly different than the problems with the DMCA. For instance, the DMCA has been used to suppress free speech and put people in jail while this directive could be used to privately seize a small firms computers.

So my question is, when writing to an MEP I have contact with, would it be better not to mention anything about the DMCA at all? Could someone from the FFII answer. (So that I don't have to read the proposal myself :-)

henrik

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EU IP enforcement directive advances

Posted Feb 26, 2004 14:38 UTC (Thu) by j_heald (guest, #15398) [Link]

FFII is very much focussed on how the directive might be (mis)used against software developers. But the heart of the directive is to put very strong weapons into the hands of claimed rights-holders. That's why it got the nickname "DMCA on steroids". The possible raids we were talking about against software developers could equally well be directed at individual file-sharers; and it has even been suggested that controversial groups such as eg the Church of Scientology could use the measures to seize systems and documents, and sub-poena the names of opponents, if they were to claim that they were redistributing unauthorised copyright material or claimed confidential information.

For technical legal reasons, this sort of Directive can't be used to introduce new criminal measures, only measures to be used in civil (non-criminal) disputes. But some of the measures being introduced are very powerful, and completely unknown up until now in most of Europe; which is another reason why we think it is very important to limit them for legal predictability to only the most serious cases, at least to start with.

EU IP enforcement directive advances

Posted Feb 26, 2004 16:04 UTC (Thu) by coriordan (guest, #7544) [Link]

You could copy some stuff from the letter sent by IFSO to the Irish representative on the European Council. Sorry I don't have a html/text version handy - also, that letter was written on very short notice and could be improved.