Common Rights

Once more, I’ve been proven wrong to be possible to sleep safe and sound on two ears again. If you think the three strikes and you’re out policy was big news, then you’ll probably be astonished what you are going to read next. The past few days a few countries and lawmakers have been stirring the kettle to release a witches brew on a global scale, of which you, possibly not even know about!

So, what did you hear about ACTA? The secret copyright treaty law? The “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” which Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns. According boingboing; it’s bad, very bad! I didn’t know anything about it till a few days ago on slashdot, where things like this are the general discussion; but which is still stuff which freightens, us all, working with the Internet on a total different way than the common man. But, who are we? Are we soon to be criminals or are we common people like you and anyone else around you?

We are artists, fans, creators and ready to change the world of beauty. Art is limitless and present in our culture for decades long. It has never got that limited before with copyrights and treaties like today. We’ve got a heritage of classical music and oldies, let our current music be a heritage too, so it doesn’t get lost in the vast stream of competitive and posessive behavior by a few corporate greeds on this planet. I don’t support illegal copies of anything, but, I don’t support such blanket laws, giving full power over everything without a fair chance at court, for some participating countries!

As an artist I feel very threatened with this treaty if it gets passed. Totally not because I am doing illegal things, but as indie artist, I try to distribute my music through the Internet with alternative channels; because, I do not believe in the current trend of the music industry where you sign away (all) rights for a nickle and a dime. Some works have to be protected and some have to be free; but in essence, the artist should always have the final choice which destination his work(s) will get and not the agency deciding about all works because of a signature. How did Picasso, Da Vinci and others get famous? Not by signing up with a global manager but by getting known as common art with common people, just like you and me…

It’s the global DMCA, maybe America’s wettest dream to come thru because it would enable and stick globalisation of any multimedia to a few corporations on the world, so be very very afraid which could come next! The RIAA and the MPAA would be dealing with your rights from now on, as citizen of the European community! This treaty is currently being discussed in South Korea, in super secret between the United States, EU, Swiss and Japan. About 40 or so countries are participating according the Huffingtonpost.

A lot of indie artists are using P2P to distribute and promote their releases on a very legal way; avoiding corporate greed and connect straight to their fans; they could all be in danger!

I am glad a lot of websites are concerned around the world dealing with this new ACTA treaty, which would be passed beyond our backs.

The proposal includes (but is not limited to):

• Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) will be held accountable for sharing and carrying information towards the public, where they’d have to police over all data coming in (and going out).
• The three strikes and you are out would be re-enabled giving your country the choice to kick you out for p2p traffic, even if it would be legal, because no court gets involved and ISP’s will have to decide to protect themselves.
• Each country has to be required to create it’s laundry list of penalties, including imprisonment; sufficient to deter future acts of infringement. Rape or murder would be nothing compared to this sentence;
• Non commercial infringement could lead to criminal penalties;
• generic medicines can be seizured in-transit from India to Brazil, Colombia and Peru, which would mean the access to medicines would be controlled by some greeds!
• Taking your backup cd of your favorite artist will be illegal, since trafficking in fake packaging for movies or music would become a criminal act;
• criminalisation of unauthorized camcording, if there weren’t enough laws protecting this already?
• legalize border searches without probable cause and possibly to seizure when such information is deemed illegal.

So, what can you do about these important details getting discussed and decided beyond your back, possibly limiting your future to come?

• Read more at Wikipedia, the EFF with their Sunlight for ACTA campaign, theregister, La Quadrature
• Demand transparency of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA petition)
• Join your group or discuss this with the common guy! (Soundcloud | Slashdot | DIGG)
• Write your MEP’s, respond to your favorite website, discuss!
• Protect your future, your legacy and your rights!

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Links included in this post are:

• ACTA at Wikipedia.
• Telecoms Package @ theregister
• Europe only goes half way in protecting Internet rights @ laquadrature.net
• Common-Rights group @ SoundCloud.
• YRO: Secret Copyright Treaty Leaks, It’s Bad, Very Bad! @ Slashdot.org
• Save your Internet freedom now | Three strikes and you’re out
• Michael Geist, The ACTA Internet Chapter
• ACTA petition
• It’s bad, very bad @ BoingBoing.net
• Those who signed the NDA for the ACTA petition | The greeds!
• A Patriot act for the Internet @ huffingtonpost.com
• Rape-nuts @ Thedailyshow
• Second degree murder and six other crimes are cheaper than pirating music
• Medicines can be seizured by Dutch customs
• ACTA and Issues related to pharmaceuticals and counterfeit medicines @ Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada.

The freedom of any net-citizen might be at stake, because the French and EU president Sarkozy, tries to get his foot inbetween the door of any internaut in Europe by regulating it’s network based on his “three strikes and you’re out” without court order. This proposal is called the “Telecom Package “, which reforms the EU’s regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services with a view to completing the internal market for electronic communications.

“no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end-users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities, notably in accordance with Article 11 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union on freedom of expression and information, save when public security is threatened where the ruling may be subsequent.” — Amendment 138 (24/09/08)

You might remember from the past, as soon as Sarkozy became president he soon became obsessed with the “graduated response” of “3 strikes and you’re out”. Some of these amendments were covertly introduced into this “Telecom Package” which would inflict the same “3 strikes and you’re out” rule through entire Europe; which is blocked by amendment 138 (supported by a huge cross-party majority of 88% of the members of the EU MEPs). Sarkozy requested to delete amendment 138 of the “Telecom Package” which was firmly refused by the EU.

Very ironically, CBC has reported the French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been approached by an independent band for copyright infringement . He admitted to use the bands song multiple times for a political campaign which goes beyond the scope of a normal license and offered to settle the case for a symbolic 1 euro! The band rejected the offer calling this insulting.

Does this mean a president can break his own rules for commercial reasons without permission or payment? Are these court-fines ambigiously high? Since a president can settle for 1€! It’s amazing the public just accepts such “zero tolerance” from the music industry while being nailed at the higher command “defending the common artist”.

The Commission considers the amendment to be important to the key legal principles of the Community legal order, especially because it’s the fundemental right of the citizens; in particular the right to respect for a private life, protect property, for effective remedies and freedom of expression and information. Basically, we cannot inject economic growth by installing surveillance and tracing, limiting our own lives and social development. In the past a campaign has been started to save amendment 138 and Internet Freedom from the Council of the EU.

“Think about the impact, the music industry has been pushing this in France; imagine yourself a neighbour with an open WIFI, go leech some music through P2P and see your neighbours being gradually kicked off the net! Fast Internet for you! Your neighbours would be unable to stop this, because their internet access would be closed without a fair trial at court!”

Nicolay Sarkozy personally wrote a letter to Jose Manual Barroso to ask him to remove amendment 138 because it “tends to exclude the possibility for Member States to implement a smart strategy of deterrence against piracy”. This law, currently active in France, is dangerous because of the earlier facts of acts upon flaky immaterial “evidence” of counterfeiting provided by the content industries; not to forget the ligitations by the same industry in the US.

Timeline

• 19/01/2009: The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) released his opinion on the current state of the Telecoms Package. His views include that if nothing is done, article 6.6(a) will allow any company to collect and process traffic data from any Internet user, for an undetermined period of time.
• 27/11/2008: Council of European Union adopts political agreement on Telecoms Package without am138 ((Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) nor am166 (GUE/NGL))
• 07/11/2008: European Commission amends proposal on telecoms package with am138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) accepted in part or subject to rewording and am166 (GUE/NGL) not accepted.
• 30/10/2008: French Senate adopts unanimously 3-strikes Law.
• 06/10/2008: Spokesperson for European Commission DG Information Society announce that the Commission rejects Sarkozy’s request to reject am 138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) on the Telecoms Package.
• 03/10/2008: Nicolas Sarkozy writes to the president of EU Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to reject am 138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) on the Telecoms Package.
• 24/09/2008: Am 138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) with oral amendment and am 166 (GUE/NGL) are adopted during plenary vote on the Telecoms Package.
• 24/09/2008: Rapporteur Catherine Trautmann tables an oral amendment to am 138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) on the Telecoms Package.
• 17/09/2008: Am 138 (Bono-Cohn Bendit-Roithová) and am 133 & am 166 (GUE/NGL) are tabled for plenary vote on the Telecoms Package.
• 02/06/2008: Amendments Bono are rejected on Cultural Committee opinion report on the Telecoms Package.
• 10/04/2008: Amendment “Bono-Rocard-Fjellner” is adopted during plenary vote on the resolution on cultural industries in Europe.

End January 2009, the EU Parliament’s committee for legal affairs voted the Medina report on Copyright. This report seems to be the initial wet dream of the content industry. It contains the complete wishlist of the entertainment industry against the Internet and its users:

1. graduated response: recommending “three strikes and you’re out” against unauthorized file sharing for all Europe, including the full cooperation with ISP’s based on denunciations by the entertainment industries;
2. Internet content filtering: asking to deploy technologies to filter content “for identification and recognition [...] with a view to distinguish more easily between legal and pirated products” which contradicts the very nature and technology of the Internet!
3. Internet access providers liability: inviting “reflection on the responsibility of Internet access providers in the fight against piracy” which would make them liable for the content posted by their users.
4. Denial of copyright exceptions: its conclusion is anticiptated by the result of the public consultation launched by the EU Commission on “Copyright in the knowledge economy” by stating that any reform of the 2001 copyright Directive is undesirable; the existing regime for copyright exceptions is undesirable and that there is no need for new exceptions. This undermines creativity, interoperability and stiffens innovation.

The wheel hasn’t stopped spinning yet! At 29 february 2009, another official second reading will start about the “Telecoms Package” in the European Parliament. At that very moment, a political agreement might be reached after ongoing opaque negotiations between the rapporteurs, the Commission and the Council. Some amendments pushed by AT&T called “network management practices” could be used to discriminate which content, services and applications users can access and use. This could be an european threat towards user’s rights, freedoms which might put Internet innovation to a halt in the current economic crisis. This all as an exclusive part for the entertainment industry; how convenient .. not?

Links:

• Commission position on am.138 adopted by the European Parliament in plenary vote on 24/09
• Copyright dogmatism ridiculously strikes the EU Parliament
• Telecoms Package @ Laquadrature.net
• Story of Anti 3 Strikes Amendments
• EU data protection authority confirms privacy threat in the “Telecoms Package”
• Who wants Net Discrimination in Europe?

[More coming soon, check this article for updates!]

update 09/03/09: Added Youtube video “Telecoms Package explained”