[DMCA-Activists] IPJ News: UK Outlaws File-Sharing and Circumvention Devices

[Seth Johnson]

(Forwarded from Digital Copyright list)

-----Original Message-----
From: "Olga Francois" <address@hidden>
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 09:30:30 -0500
Subject: [Fwd: IPJ News: UK Outlaws File-Sharing and Circumvention 
Devices]

FYI...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: IPJ News: UK Outlaws File-Sharing and Circumvention Devices
Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 17:38:33 -0800
From: IP Justice <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IP Justice Newsletter ~ Nov. 5, 2003
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this Issue:

1. EU Copyright Directive Takes Effect in United Kingdom
     UK Outlaws File-Sharing and Circumvention Devices
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. EU Copyright Directive Takes Effect in United Kingdom
    UK Outlaws File-Sharing and Circumvention Devices

The United Kingdom has become the sixth European nation to implement
the 
controversial European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD) into national
law.

The UKs Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No.
2498) 
amended the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act of 1988 to provide
greater 
rights to copyright holders.  The new went into effect on October 31,
2003 
and included many substantial changes to UK copyright law.

The regulations create a broad new right to make copyrighted works 
available to the public that criminalizes P2P file-sharing of music. 
Under 
the new law, a British citizen can now get two years in prison for
swapping 
music over the Internet.

Similar to the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the new UK
law 
outlawed devices and information that can assist in bypassing
technological 
restrictions such as Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes.  The UK
ban 
is so broad that it jeopardizes cryptographic research because it
outlaws 
all commercial uses of technical information including its possession
and 
distribution.

Its disheartening to see yet another national legislature being forced
to 
change its domestic laws and imprison its citizens for file-sharing of 
music or for publishing certain technical information, said Robin
Gross, 
Executive Director of IP Justice, an international civil liberties 
organization that promotes more balanced copyright laws.

The new UK copyright law also creates new powers for copyright holders
to 
obtain injunctions against Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for the 
allegedly infringing acts of their customers or others.

UK Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI 2003 No. 2498):
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032498.htm

UK Copyright Office on EUCD Implementation:
http://www.patent.gov.uk/copy/notices/2003/copy_direct3.htm

Information on legal bans against circumvention in Europe and the US:
http://www.ipjustice.org/hotspots.shtml

Circumvention Prohibitions Reconsidered: Why Americas Mistake is
Europes 
Future
By Robin D. Gross, Esq.
http://www.ipjustice.org/eucd012903.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IP Justice is an international civil liberties organization that
promotes 
balanced intellectual property law. IP Justice defends individual
rights
to 
use digital media worldwide and is a registered California non-profit 
organization. IP Justice was founded in 2002 by Robin D. Gross, who
serves 
as its Executive Director. To learn more about IP Justice, visit the 
website at http://www.ipjustice.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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