‘Sweeping’ French anti-file sharing penalties
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- If you can’t woo ‘em, screw ‘em.
French president and entertainment cartel representative Nicolas Sarkozy has been unsuccessful in his repeated attempts to have the Hollywood and Big Music ‘Three Strikes’ business plan adopted as law.
He’s pictured with struggling corporate singer Carla Bruni, his wife, and an employee of joint sponsor Vivendi Music.
France’s Le Canard Enchaine, “busted French President Nicolas Sarkozy for pirating 400 copies of a DVD,” said the Huffington Post recently.
While we wait to see how this’ll be resolved, judicial authorities have, “approved sweeping penalties against the illegal copying of music and movies, which could result in violators losing their Internet access by the end of next year,” says the New York Times.
“The law creates a new agency that will send out warning letters to Internet pirates” says the story. “Those who ignore a second warning could face a yearlong suspension of their Internet access, as well as fines.”
The main difference between the first proposal, rejected by the constitutional court, and this version is: a judge, rather than a new agency, will be required to sign off on any account suspensions, says the story, adding:
“Campaigners for an unfettered Internet complained that even the new version of the law is unfair because the judicial procedure would be fast-tracked, as with traffic violations, denying the accused the right to due process of law.”
Sarkozy, Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music, and Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures, think they’ve scored.
But it’ll turn out to be an own-goal.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
October, 2009
Huffington Post – Nicolas Sarkozy: French President Accused Of Pirating 400 DVDs, October 10, 2009
New York Times – France Approves Wide Crackdown on Net Piracy, October 22, 2009
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