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back to article EFF takes up arms against Euro copyright move

The European wing of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has taken on the might of the European Commission by beginning its opposition to IPRED2, the proposed new directive that aims to harmonise European copyright laws. The organisation has launched a web-based petition here that it wants you to sign up to. The EFF is …

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  1. Andrew Bright

    Legitimate P2P affected

    The real threat here is to legitimate businesses that use P2P applications to push updates to client workstations prior to the implementation of major upgrades.

    Even some gaming developers do this - I believe Blizzard use this method of distribution so their online World of Warcraft customers don't have to download huge files when their servers switch over to new versions of their software.

    Making the production of business software illegal is obviously not something the EC wants to do - and a concerted effort to educate them with the facts as opposed to RIAA and Hollywood rhetoric ought to be something the EFF can do successfully.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Criminal or Hero?

    "Member States shall ensure that all intentional infringements of an intellectual property right on a commercial scale, and attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting such infringements, are treated as criminal offences."

    Wow, ultra vague wording. Lets get to more specifics.

    I make a super duper European search engine, people can find copyright material some of which is infringing, faster and easier than ever. Am I a copyright criminal or a technology hero? Do you give me a European innovation award or throw me in jail for 4 years?

    I make a media player, but it only plays .ZZZ format files and no one sells .ZZZ files, so the only source of .ZZZ is by copy/convert. Am I a criminal or hero? Am I the next MP3 or the next criminal Ronnie Bigs?.

    Sony comes out with some god awful rootkit, I make and sell software to remove their root kit.

    Am I criminal or hero?

    Microsoft makes daily activation an EULA requirement for a copyright license. I make a patch to free customers from that burden. Copyright criminal or Hero?

    I find out an EU Commissioner is receiving huge backhanders from a lobby group, his documents falls into my hands. I sell copies to journalists, he claims copyright on those documents and seeks to have me prosecuted for commercial copyright infringement.

    Am I am the criminal or is he the criminal?

    There is a wacky brain washing cult. I release their secret documents about aliens coming to earth on my advertising sponsored website.

    Am I a criminal or a hero?

    Is the advertising reseller a hero or a criminal?

    What about my ISP, are they criminals or heroes?

    What do you mean "attempting, aiding or abetting and inciting such infringements"????

    If you don't define it, and it can be applied to heroes as easily as criminals then what the f*** do you think you're up to?

    Do you imagine that the national courts will fix up yet another EU mess?

    Remember software patents? EU Commission nearly decimated the EU software industry for the benefit of a few lobby groups, and the national courts saved your incompetent asses.

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