[P2P-F] Fwd: [opennetcoalition] Private Copying: French Parliament Downsizes The Public's Rights

Wed Nov 23 13:43:41 CET 2011

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: La Quadrature du Net <jz at laquadrature.net>
Date: Wed, Nov 23, 2011 at 6:18 PM
Subject: [opennetcoalition] Private Copying: French Parliament Downsizes
The Public's Rights
To: opennetcoalition at laquadrature.net

La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release

Permanent link:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/private-copying-french-parliament-downsizes-the-publics-rights

Private Copying: French Parliament Downsizes The Public's Rights

*** Paris, November 23rd, 2011 – Members of the French Parliament are using
a bill on private copying levy as an occasion to kill the copyright
exception for private copying. Under the pretense of saving royalties
collection, MPs have redefined fair use in the process. Giving in once more
to pressure from the recording and movie industry, the French Parliament
carries on Nicolas Sarkozy's repressive policy against the Internet and new
cultural practices. ***

Today, the French National Assembly begins express examination of the bill
on private copying levy. Though this bill [1] is aimed at adapting the
private copying levy to national and EU case law, Members of the
Parliaments are giving in to the copyright industry's request to further
narrow down fair use and the rights of the public. Indeed, a crucial
amendment aims at conditioning the benefit of the exception for private
copying to the legality of the sources used [2].

By introducing this notion of “lawfulness of the source”, MPs are forcing
everyone to proceed to an in-depth legal analysis based on mostly
impossible to determine elements in order to make a private copy. Was the
source used to make a private copy lawful? If it was disseminated online,
who uploaded it? Did this person have the author's authorisation? etc. Such
questions will never, in practical terms, have an answer and will make
copying unlawful by default.

“By narrowing down the scope of the exception in this way, the public are
being deprived of its rights. After years of a ruthless war against the
sharing of culture between individuals on the Internet, French authors'
rights law is hijacked once more by vested interests who want to protect
their obsolete business models by limiting recognised user prerogatives.”,
said Philippe Aigrain, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net.

“In the name of private copy levy, we are deprived of the right to copy!
Such negation of the rights of the public is coherent with Nicolas
Sarkozy's policies aimed at turning copyright into a repressive weapon
against cultural practices in the hand of industrial lobbies. These
political manoeuvres harm the legitimacy of copyright as a whole.”, said
Jérémie Zimmermann, co-founder and spokesperson of the citizen organisation.

* References *

1.
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/dossiers/remuneration_copie_privee.asp

2. See, article 1st by the Cultural affairs committee :
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/ta-commission/r3953-a0.asp

** About la Quadrature du Net **

La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that promotes the rights and
freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for
the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding
principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge.

In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better
understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and
pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage
citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the
digital age.

La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international
NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society
Institute and Privacy International.

List of supporting organisations:
https://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-la-quadrature-du-net

** Press contact and press room **

Jérémie Zimmermann, jz at laquadrature.net, +33 (0)615 940 675

http://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room

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