20090701 The Fight to Keep the Web Free Carries On
From s5h.net
Winning the Open Web
It seems an unfair fight. On the one hand, you have some of the biggest, most powerful multinationals, intent on defending their turf and extending their power and profits. On the other, you have a tiny number of ragtag idealists who believe that knowledge belongs to everyone, and that no one should have disproportionately long monopolies on its supply. And yet: in the last few years a remarkable series of victories have been one by the latter against the former, to the extent that representatives of the big media industries have warned that they are losing the "battle". Against that background of uneven forces - but not quite in the way the media companies mean it - sharing information about past successes so as to drive future ones is crucially important. And yet it is rarely done, probably because the practitioners are too busy fighting the battles to write about it.
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/06/winning-open-web.html Content Online Platform - mind the gap!
The European Commission has quietly released the Final Report on the Content Online Platform. Does it serve the interests of serious policy-making for online film and music? Full of grammatical errors and lacking in substantial understanding of the issues, the Final Report on the Content Online Platform poses a challenge to anyone seeking a serious policy proposition.
http://www.iptegrity.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=368&Itemid=9
Recent
French Net black-out against "graduated response"
Opposing the stubborn and ridiculous will of the French governement to disconnect whole families from the Internet without real proof or trial, La Quadrature du Net issues a call to all freedom-cherishing citizens to a "black-out" of their sites, blogs, profiles, avatars,... As has been done in New Zealand, the only other country with France where the "graduated response" would have been imposed by law, and was finally pushed back: to protest against this stupid law and its "white list" of authorized websites, the French Web must act and dress in black.
http://www.laquadrature.net/en/french-net-blackout-against-graduated-response
Music industry's Irish ISP shakedown letter leaked
An internet hosting company has published a copy of the nasty-gram Ireland's music industry lawyers bulk-mailed to that country's internet service providers, demanding they begin blocking access to any website accused of piracy or else.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/25/irma_letter_to_isps_blacknight_solutions/
Political Hypocrisy: French President Sued for Copyright Infringement
This may very well become the most ironic stories of 2009 in the copyright debate. The CBC is reporting that French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sued by an independent band for copyright infringement.
Is Nicholas Sarkozy One Strike Towards Losing His Internet Connection?
The latest is that French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, a big supporter of setting up a three strikes law in France, is being accused of violating copyright law himself.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20090226/0101073907.shtml
Music Executive Ridiculed at Pirate Bay Trial
Laughter filled The Pirate Bay trial here Wednesday when John Kennedy, the chief executive of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries, testified that people would have purchased every music track they got free file sharing. Kennedy answered an affirmative "Yes" to Pirate Bay defense attorneys when asked whether that was true. Bursting laughter could be heard from the audio room beside the courtroom where the trial's sound was being broadcast.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/02/piratebaywednes.html
British Government Violates Copyright
As much as I utterly despise the entire premise of Intellectual Monopoly, this is about violating the principles of a Free License, and if it's good enough for the British government to violate our civil rights in the name of Intellectual Monopoly, then it's good enough for the Free World to protect its "property" (in fact Freedom) too…
http://slated.org/british_government_violates_copyright
UK government stole website theme
NUMBER 10, the UK Prime Minister's website, is apparently built using a design it nicked.
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/18/uk-government-stole-website
Eircom to block Pirate Bay
In a letter sent to ISPs across the country last week, the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) disclosed the deal and warned others to follow suit or face legal action.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/23/irma_demands_irish_isps_block_access_to_piracy_sites/
Irish ISP Eircom in 'three strike' filesharer crackdown
Eircom had argued it was under no obligation to monitor the content of traffic over its network. The music labels originally wanted the court to order Eircom to install software from a US firm to detect copyrighted music files sent over its network. The ISP objected, saying the software could breach its customer's privacy. Instead, Eircom settled for the increasingly-familiar three-strikes "graduated response" program. The first time a subscriber's IP is detected infringing copyright, a warning is sent out. The second time, the subscriber is cautioned that they will be disconnected. Number three is the big disconnect.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/02/03/eircom_agrees_to_three_strikes_enforcement/
ISP Capitulates to IFPI, Agrees to Disconnect Pirates
Up until today, the ‘Big Four’ record labels were taking legal action against Ireland’s biggest ISP, Eircom, in order to force it to employ filtering technology to stop online pirates. The case has been aborted as Eircom, at the behest of the music industry, has agreed to start disconnecting those accused of illicit file-sharing.
http://torrentfreak.com/isp-capitulates-to-ifpi-agrees-to-disconnect-pirates-090128/
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