Le Parlement Européen a entamé ses travaux en vue d’un rapport d’initiative en réponse à la communication de la Commission intitulée “Renforcer l’application des droits de propriété intellectuelle sur le marché intérieur”.
La Quadrature du net a envoyé un mémo à la commission JURI du Parlement, compétente en matière de propriété intellectuelle, afin de dénoncer l’approche dogmatique et répressive de la Commission en matière de partage d’œuvres sur Internet.
(La suite en anglais).
The communication calls for so-called “voluntary agreements” between rights holders and ISPs in order to fight filesharing, without prescribing the practical measures that could be implemented through such agreements. We know however that the Commission has held several meetings in the past few months with representatives of both rights holders and ISPs. Also, it seems that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreeement (ACTA) currently negotiatied at the international level could provide a basis for the strategy the Commission calls for in the communication. Such « voluntary agreements » could therefore result in:
- the implementation of blocking and filtering practices by ISPs, in order to disable the exchange of copyrighted works through the network.
- the implementation of three strikes policies – or graduated response – through contract law. The Internet access of suspected infringers would be cut off or restricted after warnings
La Quadrature du Net submitted its memo1See the memo entitled Dogmatic IPR enforcement fails to address the challenges of the Internet-based creative economy regarding the Commission’s communication to the members of the JURI committee, which is competent for intellectual property related issues.
The memo underlines the Commission’s original analytical mistakes, from which stems a wrongful assessment of the impact of filesharing. It also urges the Commission to reconsider its copyright policies in a way that would reward creators for the online uses of their works while empowering users and enhancing access to knowledge and culture.
The JURI committee’s vote on the report is scheduled for March 23rd, 2010. The ITRE and IMCO committees will also render an opinion on the Commission’s communication, and will therefore influence the Parliament’s final position on the Commission’s plan.
Here is the e-mail that was sent to the members of the JURI committee:
On behalf of the JURI committee, Mrs. Marielle GALLO is in charge of a report in response to the European Commission’s communication « on enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights ».
The position of the Commission on the matter suffers from several misconceptions that we outline in a memorandum attached to this e-mail. As we explain in the document, the proposals put forward in the communication, if they are carried on, will inhibit many of the socio-economic benefits that the Internet offers.
We therefore call on you to reiterate the position that the Parliament expressed last year in the Susta report on the impact of counterfeiting on international trade, in which the Parliament opposed further criminalizing non-commercial copyright infringements.
Sincerely,
La Quadrature du Net
References
| ↑1 | See the memo entitled Dogmatic IPR enforcement fails to address the challenges of the Internet-based creative economy |
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