BREIN chips in on ACTA
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- Holland doesn’t have an RIAA or an MPAA.
Instead it has BREIN, a kind of combination of the two and, “According to BREIN, the production of intellectual property contributes for 5,9% to the Dutch economy and is an important export product for The Netherlands,” says a p2pnet Reader’s Write.
I’ve renamed the poster ‘Mr xxx’ because I have reason to believe the original name is a fake.
But that’s OK because the comment goes on, “When copyright is not enforced, not only content producers suffer, but indirectly also society as a whole through missed tax income, loss of employment and decreasing culturl [sic] diversity,” and links to an undated Future of Copyright item.
ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
“While battling commercial counterfeiting would seem like a good idea, the ACTA process has been marked by unprecedented secrecy as well as leaks revealing that the treaty is really about copyright rather than counterfeiting,” noted Michael Geist.
Said the Future of Copyright post in part »»»
The ACTA negotiations occur behind closed doors, which is not uncommon when trying to establish international treaties.
Civil rights organisations and ISPs have acted against the proposal to include the online environment in the treaty. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, for example, views the plans as a way to force upon the world a global three strikes policy. “The proposals have nothing to do with fighting counterfeit goods, but form a system of copyright pressure for the world wide web, including the obligation for ISPs to comply with a three strikes policy”, states Webwereld.
If ISPs would choose not to comply, they would lose their ‘safe harbors’ and would be liable for any copyright infringements by their clients.
This is not completely true. According to a leaked document of the European Commission, there are safe harbors for ISPs as long as they take steps to fight piracy. Three strikes regulations are an option, not an obligation.
In a letter to undersecretary for Economic Affairs Heemskerk, BREIN clarifies why the organisation thinks it is important that the ACTA negotiations do include digital distribution.
According to BREIN, the production of intellectual property contributes for 5,9% to the Dutch economy and is an important export product for The Netherlands. When copyright is not enforced, not only content producers suffer, but indirectly also society as a whole through missed tax income, loss of employment and decreasing culturl diversity.
Therefore, BREIN requests the undersecretary to make policies to counter any kind of piracy in the ACTA negotiations, including piracy in the online environment.
A number of United States senators and representatives have stated that the rights and interests of consumers are not safeguarded sufficiently. “Left out of the ACTA text are the elements most favorable to consumers, including those intended to curb anticompetitive practices, and to protect innovation. The result is an agreement that is therefore unbalanced.”
Now you know.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Future of Copyright – BREIN pleads for inclusion of online environment in ACTA
Michael Geist – ACTA talks – the ‘highest level of secrecy’, November 10, 2009
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It’s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
Related Articles
Del.Icio.Us this! | Digg this! | Reddit this! | Stumble this!



No comments yet