Digital Rights Network - News

British Academy Report: Copyright and research in the humanities and social sciences

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:50:06 +0100

The British Academy has just published its report on "Copyright and research in the humanities and social sciences". They find a variety of problems (detailed below) and also provide an extensive set of recommendations (see the Executive Summary linked from the main report page.

The findings of the Review

* Copyright law generally provides exemptions for fair dealing for private study and non-commercial research, and for purposes of criticism and review. These exemptions should normally be sufficient for academic and scholarly use.

* The problems lie in narrow interpretation, both by rights holders and by publishers of new works which refer to existing copyright material. These problems are acute in some subjects, particularly music, and history and film studies.

* Copyright holders have become more sensitive in defence of their rights, as a result of the development of new media, and are more aggressive in seeking to maximise revenue from the rights, even if the legal basis of their claims is weak.

* Risk averse publishers, who are often themselves rights holders, demand that unnecessary permissions be obtained, and such permissions are often refused or granted on unreasonable terms.

* There is an absence of case law, because the financial stakes involved in each individual case are small relative to the costs of litigation.

* Publishers and authors are very uncertain as to the true position and misapprehensions are widespread.

* There are well-founded concerns that new database rights and the development of digital rights management systems (DRMs) may enable rights holders to circumvent the effects of the copyright exemptions designed to facilitate research and scholarship.

Joint Statement Opposing Broadcast Treaty by Broad-Based Coalition

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 11:21:11 +0100

Statement Concerning The WIPO Broadcast Treaty Provided By Certain Information Technology, Consumer Electronics And Telecommunications Industry Representatives, Public Interest Organizations, And Performers' Representatives

Released: 2006-09-05

The undersigned represent a broad and diverse group, united in a common belief that the WIPO Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organizations, as currently drafted, would harm important economic and public policy interests. This Statement offers comments on several key aspects of the treaty.

EC on Broadcast Treaty: Protections can Only Go Up

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 15:33:44 +0100

Manon Ress writes to the a2k list: In their answer to TACD re broadcasting treaty, the EC explains that the proposed treaty cannot depart from a previous treaty (Rome). This despite the fact that the US and many other countries have never signed!. Protection can only go up. Exceptions can only be narrow and optional.

QUOTE:
To that extent, the EU cannot agree with the TACD demands since it would not reflect the current level of protection that is already accorded to broadcasters in the Community copyright acquis and would have the effect of diluting that protection. Nor would it be feasible within the context of international negotiations for a new treaty updating the rights of broadcasting organisations in the intellectual property context under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisations to depart from the substantive norms of previous treaties [i.e. protection cannot go down]. This is what the Brazilian and Argentinean proposals envisage, namely the provision of mandatory rights for users. This would be contrary to all previous relevant Treaties in this area. The traditional approach in this area and the one which reflects EU law as well is to introduce optional exceptions for certain users such as the disabled or for teaching and research purposes. [emphasis added]
END OF QUOTE

DRM Standardization as Part of DG Enterprise 2006 Work Programme

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:29:31 +0100

The European Commission's DG Enterprise section as part of their 2006 work programme in the area of Technology for Innovation/INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES and E-business are looking at ICT Standardization: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/standards/ict_index_en.htm

Full details of the ICT Standardization Work progamme are in this pdf: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/standards/wp2006.pdf which contains the following section referencing to DRM (p.11):

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND COUNTERFEITING

Action 31: Further to the standardisation work already initiated, additional efforts are required with regard to interoperability of different DRM systems. Although Directive 2001/29/EC limits itself, inter alias, to the legal framework applicable to technological protection measures, these provisions can only deliver their intended effect if user- friendly, reliable and interoperable DRM systems are available to the creative industries. In this context, a follow-up of already achieved standardisation work should be considered with a focus on particular markets such as current and next generation consumer electronics, including DVB-Content Protection & Copy Management (DVB-CPCM), as well as mobile handheld devices, including their interoperability with computer and consumer electronic devices. [emphasis added]

WIPO-Sponsored-by-the-Industry Broadcasting Seminar in Barcelona

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 09:45:27 +0100

what: WIPO Seminar on Broadcasting Treaty (sponsored by Broadcasters)
url: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/prdocs/en/2006/wipo_ma_2006_23.html
registration: http://www. wipo.int/copyright
when: 2006-06-21 (21st June)
where: Barcelona

From http://www.wipo.int/edocs/prdocs/en/2006/wipo_ma_2006_23.html

BARCELONA SEMINAR TO DISCUSS BROADCASTING ISSUES

International experts, business leaders, academics, government delegates and policy makers will come together on June 21, 2006, in Barcelona, under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Catalan Broadcasting Council and the Barcelona Bar Association, to examine current technical, economic and legal realities in the field of broadcasting and identify areas for development.

OSCAR the Open-Source Car

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 13:34:31 +0100

I was impressed by the radical design principles espoused in this article about fuel-cell vehicles, and heartened when I reached the end to see it was an example of open-source principles being harnessed to power the green revolution. And all reported in the Daily Telegraph...

EU Consultation on Copyright Levy Reform

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:32:10 +0100

subject: copyright levies and private copy exception
url: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/levy_reform/index_en.htm
start: 2006-06-06 (6th June)
end: 2006-07-14 (14th July)

From the Website

Copyright levy reform is included in the Commission Work Program for 2006. In October 2004, the Commission consulted Member States on the scope of the private copying exception and existing systems of remuneration. Replies from Member States were due by March 2005. Where relevant, Member States were asked to update their replies and return them by January 2006. Member States have authorised the publication of these replies. Some Member States are still updating the replies submitted in 2005 and once these are received, these replies will also be published.

Stakeholder Consultation

The attached questionnaire on "Copyright levies in a converging world" is submitted for public consultation to ensure that later Commission proposals are technically viable, practically workable and based on a bottom-up approach. Stakeholders and Member States already provided valuable input in the process and this additional follow-up consultation serves the dual purpose to help to further improve the quality of the policy outcome and at the same time enhancing the involvement of interested parties and the public at large. This additional follow-up consultation period will run from 6 June through 14 July 2006. (Questionnaire PDF - http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/docs/levy_reform/stakeholder_consultation_en.pdf)

UKPO: Consultation on the Patent Office strategy for supporting innovation

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:23:31 +0100

deadline: 2006-08-21
email: innovation@patent.gov.uk
url: http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/support/

From the UKPO Site

Introduction

1. The Patent Office has been considering how it can deploy its considerable knowledge, resources and expertise to support innovation in the UK beyond our existing support activities and core statutory functions of granting IP rights, serving as a tribunal and providing advice on IP policy to Ministers. To this end, we have prepared a strategy for supporting innovation which is the subject of this consultation. Annex 1, describes how the Office intends contributing to the Government’s innovation support agenda by building on its existing support activities and pursuing new initiatives.

Qualcomm sues Nokia in the UK

Thu, 25 May 2006 10:06:21 +0100

From the Register:

"Qualcomm has brought the patent infringement allegations it has made against mobile phone giant Nokia to the UK. The US company has asked the English High Court to ban certain Nokia products and to force the Finnish firm to cough up damages."

"Qualcomm's complaint cites two UK patents that Nokia is alleged to have infringed - rather less than the 12 US patents the company alleges Nokia has infringed Stateside. Qualcomm launched legal proceedings against Nokia in the San Diego District Court in November 2005."

13th WIPO SCCR Meeting on the Broadcast Treaty (Nov 2005): Live from Day 5

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 13:57:12 +0100

Here we are in Day 5 of the 14th SCCR (Standing Committee on Copyright and Releated Rights) meeting at WIPO which is entirely dedicated to discussing the broadcast treaty (Jamie Love has recently posted an article at the huffington post which provides good simple summary of the situation written in his typical combative and engaging style).

At present it doesn't look like NGOs will get a chance to speak as further discussion of webcasting (in addition to that on wednesday) ended up taking up much of the morning. Last night the committee worked late (until 2230) in an attempt to get through the remaining issues related to the core treaty (definition of terms, rights provided, national treatment, limitations and exceptions and TPMs).

Intel release statement opposing the Broadcast Treaty

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 12:43:25 +0100

Intel have released a statement opposing the Broadcast treaty containing the following position (the statement is reproduced below in full below):

Intel opposes the WIPO Broadcast Treaty. Proponents have not demonstrated that the benefits of creating new exclusive rights outweigh the burdens that these new rights impose.

...

Intel believes that efforts to enact the WIPO Broadcast Treaty should be abandoned. Alternatively, and less optimally, Intel believes that the scope of the treaty should be dramatically narrowed, to focus specifically on signal theft.

---------

DISCUSSION DRAFT: APRIL 10, 2006

STATEMENT OF INTEL CORPORATION CONCERNING THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION'S PROPOSED TREATY ON THE PROTECTION OF BROADCASTING ORGANIZATIONS

CONTACT: Jeff Lawrence, Director, Digital Home and Content Policy . Brad Biddle, Senior Attorney, Systems Technology Lab

BACKGROUND. The World Intellectual Property Organization is drafting a proposed "Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations." For many countries (including the United States) the treaty, if adopted, will create an entirely new type of intellectual property right. Under the treaty, broadcasting organizations obtain new legal rights to control uses of content that they broadcast-rights that are separate from and in addition to any existing copyright rights in the content. Adopting countries can choose to extend these new rights to "webcast" content in addition to traditional broadcast content.

INTEL'S POSITION. Intel opposes the WIPO Broadcast Treaty. Proponents have not demonstrated that the benefits of creating new exclusive rights outweigh the burdens that these new rights impose. These burdens include:

WHO report on 'Public health, innovation and intellectual property rights'

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:33:52 +0100

Report is available at http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/documents/thereport/en/index.html

The following is the summary of the report provided by the WHO as part of their FAQ

6. What does the report say?

Intellectual property rights are a general incentive provided by governments to promote innovation in all fields. In respect of public health, they are embedded in a set of other incentives which influence the pattern of innovation. They need to be looked at as part of a bigger picture.

EU report recommends open access to publicly funded scientific research

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:18:12 +0100

From EDRI-GRAM
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.8/openaccess:

The EU report drafted by economists from Toulouse University and the Free University of Brussels on the economic and technical evolution of scientific publishing in Europe, published on 31 March 2006, recommends public access to scientific research funded by the European taxpayer.

The report proposes the development of a European policy that would allow researchers receiving EU funding to place copies of articles published in subscription journals on web-based archives that can be accessed by everyone for free. It also expressed the need to “specify standards that will insure that the archives are accessible, interoperable, and have cross-searching facilities. In addition, set up a general European archive for researchers with access to a subject-based or institutional archive.”

Judge creates own Da Vinci code

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 12:35:59 +0100

The BBC reports that Mr Justice Smith, the judge who presided over the recent failed Da Vinci Code plagiarism case at London's High Court, has hidden his own secret code in his written judgement. Seemingly random italicised letters were included in the 71-page judgement given by Mr Justice Peter Smith, which apparently spell out a message. Italicised letters in the first few pages spell out "Smithy Code", while the following pages also contain marked out letters.

Bristol City Council makes 60% saving by switching from Microsoft Office to StarOffice

Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:17:43 +0100

Open source academy has
a story about Bristol City Council's switch to Star Office from Microsoft Office which it is estimated will save the council 60%. One of the key reasons for the switch along with the the lower total cost of ownership (TCO) was the desire to increase flexibility and avoid vendor lock-in in the long run:

Bristol City Council is set to save 60 per cent on software costs over five years following its decision to switch from Microsoft Office to Sun's StarOffice.