RIAA takes it to European Citizens

BattleBoar

This kind of thing is already happening in the US, but to a much lesser degree. The ISPs in the states are now fighting back and have won major judgements, including one saying that the RIAA's tactics amounts to search and seisure without a warrent. But from all appearances, the European law *could* lead to far more aggressive persecutions (err...prosecutions), by the RIAA vs. individual users. Now I'm not fully versed on the enforcement of EU-wide laws, but if the EU passes a law, does it automatically become the law of the land in all member countries, or does it have to be ratified by each? If the former, this is one of the most dangerous things about accepting greater EU integration...

http://chipzilla.com/?article=14308

European consumers face dawn raids by music executives

"Back room deals" mean rushed directive


By INQUIRER staff: Monday 23 February 2004, 08:25

IPJUSTICE claimed that an intellectual property law is set to become law within a month's time and means that recording industry enforcers could raid consumers' homes and freeze bank accounts even for minor infringements.
The EU Directive for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights will be finally debated today and tomorrow in the legal affairs committee.

According to Robin Gross, attorney and Executive Director of IP Justice, the law is being rushed through its final stages and includes enforcement rules that will be used against consumers for both non-commercial and accidental infringements.

She said: "For example, recording industry executives will be able to raid and ransack the homes of P2P file-sharers and freeze an alleged infringer's bank account without any hearing under the directive's Anton Pillar Orders and Mareva Injunctions".

The directive, she added, was originally intended to harmonise Member States existing enforcement laws against large-scale commercial counterfeiting.

"But through EU back-room deals, the directive's scope has been extended to any infringement -- including all minor, unintentional, and non-commercial infringements such as P2P file-sharing".

She claimed that most consumers would not have a problem if it targeted its enforcement tools against commercial counterfeiters.

"But a big problem is created by the lack of proportionality in targeting consumers for non-commercial infringements," she said. "Similar subpoena powers created under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) have allowed the recording industry to frighten and financially extort thousands of US consumers for P2P file-sharing of music."

The organisation has started an international campaign for an Open Digital Environment, which can be found

here. µ

Syth

but if the EU passes a law, does it automatically become the law of the land in all member countries, or does it have to be ratified by each?

As far as I know it's more like an order to make a new law that has the same effect as the EU law, thus different states can have a different (but similar) interpretation about the same EU law.

BattleBoar

Originally posted by Syth
As far as I know it's more like an order to make a new law that has the same effect as the EU law, thus different states can have a different (but similar) interpretation about the same EU law.

So in other words, if this goes through at the EU level, Ireland *must* pass a law to the same effect, even if the language differs. What is the penalty for non-compliance? Or has a country ever taken the actions necessary to find out?

Anyway, you turn over your sovereignty, you turn over your rights, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually... :dunno:

I'm a little surprised people aren't more upset over this.

Johnmb

Originally posted by BattleBoar
So in other words, if this goes through at the EU level, Ireland *must* pass a law to the same effect, even if the language differs. What is the penalty for non-compliance? Or has a country ever taken the actions necessary to find out?

Anyway, you turn over your sovereignty, you turn over your rights, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually... :dunno:

I'm a little surprised people aren't more upset over this.

Implications are that a citizen cannot be charged with breaking the EU directive, but the government can be penalised for not introducing the law (usually a written warning, and maybe a fine later on). It happens all the time. There's most likely a few EU directives that should have been implimented here by now and haven't been already.

Originally posted by BattleBoar
but if the EU passes a law, does it automatically become the law of the land in all member countries, or does it have to be ratified by each?

No it doesnt automatically become law here unless its necessitated by our membership to the EU. In other words it has to be ratified here before it becomes law. I seriously doubt we'll be seeing agents raiding houses as I think its an invasion of privacy which is an unnenumerated right in our contsitution.

I'd love to see a copy of the law actually.

Hobbes

Easy way to solve it. Stop downloading the crap that RIAA wants to protect. Then stop buying anything that the companies the RIAA are made up of sell.

Pacifico

Easy way to solve it. Stop downloading the crap that RIAA wants to protect. Then stop buying anything that the companies the RIAA are made up of sell.

Solution : Buy the CD's!

mr_angry

Originally posted by Axel
Solution : Buy the CD's!

Thats an alternative to not being prosecuted, but not a solution to the underlying problem. The public dont feel there is anything ethically wrong with sharing information that is already in the public domain. This law, and its enforcement certainly isn't going to change that.

There was a thread on this in politics, and another in Music / Radio around the time of the directive being passed. It turns out that one of the chief architects of this law happens to be married to the vice-chairman of EMI. Imagine that.

Ireland has a further 22 months to ratify this law, or face penalties. And I don't imagine that Ireland's ministers will be particularly bothered about standing up to this, given they were 'receptive' to the ideals of the music industry at the conference for communications ministers in DKIT last week.

Read it and weep.

Hobbes

Originally posted by Axel
Solution : Buy the CD's!

Except that you are agreeing with the RIAAs methods by buying the CD, and the more you buy it the more they will fleece the crap out of you on artifically inflated prices.

Seriously.. I saw on the news that Russia with the help of the MPAA are setting up cheap DVDs (€6 instead of €30-40) to combat piracy.

ixoy

Haven't they released cheap CDs in the US to combat piracy? Not bothered to do it here it seems - people are still willing to be ripped off by HMV, etc.
There's also an interesting article here, about how album sales in the UK and Oz have actually not dropped, despiteall the uproar.
Finally, there was a recent report showing how piracy is - in the case of declining US sales - not the main factor. I haven't got a link offhand alas.
Of course, all those facts are conviently ignorned by the RIAA and MPAA groups in their effort to have a complete strangling grasp on their customers.