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Gallo report on future EU copyright: No compromise on our Freedoms!

Submitted on 31 May 2010 - 08:55
Update 14h40 : the vote will take place on Tuesday 1st June, at 10:00

Brussels, May 30th 2010 - A few hours before the vote on the Gallo report regarding the future of EU copyright, the rapporteur, French sarkozyst Marielle Gallo, has tried to lead her colleagues into voting fake compromise amendments1. Mrs Gallo tries to hide the clash between two very conflicting positions: on one hand, the rapporteur's ultra-repressive logic against online filesharing - including the encouragement of the ACTA agreement and of private copyright police - and on the other hand, the understanding that a successful creative economy will be built with Internet users and not against them. It's up to us, citizens, to help the members of the JURI committee to make the right decision by protecting fundamental freedoms and the public interest.

  • 1. These amendments actually are not the object of a compromise and reject the most important points in the proposals of several shadow rapporteurs (members representing the political groups, negociating together compromise amendments)

Gallo Report on the future of EU copyright: repression or reflexion ?

Submitted on 25 May 2010 - 08:32

Paris, May 25th, 2010 - The Gallo Report on the future of "intellectual property rights" (IPR) enforcement will be voted on June 1st, at 9 AM,1 in the Committee for Legal Affairs (JURI) of the European Parliament. Since no compromise was found between the members of the committee, two visions will frontally oppose. While the rapporteur -- French sarkozyst EPP member Marielle Gallo -- is pushing for more repression to tackle online file-sharing, some positive amendments from all the other political groups2 seek to end the dogmatic repression and call for the consideration of alternative schemes to fund creation. Every citizen concerned by the future of copyright in Europe and by the open nature of the Internet should express their views to the Members of the JURI committee3.

Digital Agenda: Caution required for the future EU Net policies (Press Release)

Submitted on 19 May 2010 - 09:47

Strasbourg, May 19, 2010 - Today, with the release of Neelie Kroes' Digital Agenda, the European Commission is unveiling major policy orientations regarding Internet-related policies. Several leaked drafts of the document revealed heavy pressures from various special interest groups. While the general outcome of the final document is encouraging, the crucial question of interoperability and open standards was eventually arbitrated in favour of US software vendors' positions. On IPR enforcement and cybercrime, the worst has been avoided but some very ambiguous wording remains.

Digital Agenda: Caution required for the future EU Net policies

Submitted on 19 May 2010 - 09:26

Strasbourg, May 19, 2010 - Today, with the release of Neelie Kroes' Digital Agenda, the European Commission is unveiling major policy orientations regarding Internet-related policies. Several leaked drafts of the document revealed heavy pressures from various special interest groups. While the general outcome of the final document is encouraging, the crucial question of interoperability and open standards was eventually arbitrated in favour of US software vendors' positions. On IPR enforcement and cybercrime, the worst has been avoided but some very ambiguous wording remains.

EU Commission: Will Kroes' Digital Agenda endanger freedoms?

Submitted on 17 May 2010 - 15:28

Paris, May 17th 2010 - On Tuesday May 18th, the Commission's Digital Agenda will be released. This important document will define the European Union's future policies on the Internet and other communications technologies. A leaked draft showed that major policy orientations remained to be arbitrated in advance of the release. Although much of the document puts forward very sensible and positive proposals, potential mentions of dogmatic copyright enforcement and Internet filtering could be sneaked in the final document at the last minute. Will the rights and freedoms of EU citizens be protected?

War on Access

Submitted on 2 May 2010 - 22:51

By Jérémie Zimmermann.

“Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen of 1789 proclaims : "The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen may thus speak, write and publish freely, except when such freedom is misused in cases determined by Law". In the current state of the means of communication and given the generalized development of public online communication services and the importance of the latter for the participation in democracy and the expression of ideas and opinions, this right implies freedom to access such services. ” - Conseil Constitutionnel, decision 2009-580 (§ 12)

Copyright Talibans are after the European Parliament

Submitted on 22 Mar 2010 - 09:12

Brussels, March 22nd, 2010 - With the current debates surrounding the Gallo Report on "Intellectual Property Rights" (IPR) enforcement1 and rumours about an imminent revival of the IPR criminal enforcement directive (IPRED2), a holy war is taking place in the European Parliament. Members of the Parliament are being flooded with false figures and statistics from the entertainment industries' intensive lobbying. They are also being heavily pressured by the French authorities. Will the European Parliament hear the cries of the Copyright Talibans and renounce to protect EU citizens fundamental freedoms?

  • 1. The Gallo report will be debated on Tuesday, March 23rd in the JURI committee.

EU Council Presidency: Spain pushes for flawed Net policies

Submitted on 12 Feb 2010 - 12:03

Last week, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council came up with a new draft resolution1 in response to the Commission's communication on enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the internal market.

[Update - March 5th, 2010: The resolution has been adopted by the Council with no significant changes.]

Questions to Commissioner-designate Kroes on Net neutrality and freedoms in the digital age

Submitted on 13 Jan 2010 - 10:32

La Quadrature du Net sent this letter to the members of the ITRE and CULT committees of the European Parliament to urge them to ask the following questions to Mrs. Kroes, Commissioner-designate for the Digital Agenda, during her hearing on Thursday, January 14th.

Future of copyright: La Quadrature calls on the Commission to reassert the public's rights

Submitted on 6 Jan 2010 - 15:04

La Quadrature du Net has submitted its response to the European Commission's consultation regarding "Online Creative Content". La Quadrature calls on the Commission to reconsider the EU's coercive and repressive copyright policies, while encouraging it to match words to deeds by fostering the rights of the public in the digital creative ecosystem.

Download "Creative Content in the Digital Age: Reasserting the Rights of the Public" in PDF.

Copyright in France: Wishful Thinking and Real Dangers

Submitted on 14 May 2013 - 10:02

Paris, 13 May 2013 — Pierre Lescure has handed in his report [fr] on culture at the digital era to French President François Hollande1. La Quadrature du Net denounces a flawed political process revealing the harmful influence of industrial groups at all levels of policy-making. How will the French government react to Lescure's proposal to expand the scope of competence of the audiovisual media regulator (CSA) to the Internet? Will it to pursue former President Sarkozy's anti-sharing policies and even supplement them with new ACTA-like measures encouraging online intermediaries to become private copyright police?

  • 1. Pierre Lescure lead a committee advising the French government on the future of copyright law Hadopi, the French "three strikes" administration.

Culture and the Internet: the report

Submitted on 10 May 2013 - 16:09

Paris, 10 May 2013 — The publication of the report on culture and the Internet requested by French president Hollande to Pierre Lescure – former CEO of Canal +, a major TV station owned by Vivendi-Universal – will be the object of a major media buzz in France. For those interested in what would be ambitious public policies adapted to the digital era, La Quadrature du Net brings back on the table its Elements for the reform of copyright and related cultural policies. Will those 14 propositions, attentive to the freedoms and uses of everyone, to the interests of authors and other contributors, be a part of it, or will the Lescure report perpetuate the repressive policies led by Nicolas Sarkozy?

Aaron Swartz on Sharing

Submitted on 25 Feb 2013 - 15:30

Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves (...). Meanwhile, those who have been locked out are not standing idly by. You have been sneaking through holes and climbing over fences, liberating the information locked up by the publishers and sharing them with your friends. But all of this action goes on in the dark, hidden underground. It’s called stealing or piracy, as if sharing a wealth of knowledge were the moral equivalent of plundering a ship and murdering its crew. But sharing isn’t immoral — it’s a moral imperative.

Elements for the reform of copyright and related cultural policies

Now that the ACTA treaty has been rejected by the European Parliament, a period opens during which it will be possible to push for a new regulatory and policy framework adapted to the digital era. Many citizens and MEPs support the idea of reforming copyright in order to make possible for all to draw the benefits of the digital environment, engage into creative and expressive activities and share in their results. In the coming months and years, the key questions will be: What are the real challenges that this reform should address? How can we address them?

This text provides an answer to the first question and tables a consistent set of proposals to tackle the second one. It is available in both English and French. The proposals address copyright reform as well as related culture and media policy issues. These elements are intended for being used by reform proponents according to their own orientations. One will have to consider nonetheless the interdependency between various proposals. This text was drafted by Philippe Aigrain, with contributions from Lionel Maurel and Silvère Mercier and was critically reviewed by the co-founders and staff of La Quadrature du Net. It is published in parallel on the author's blog and on La Quadrature du Net's site.

This text is open to any comments. You can add your own reflections or questions here.

Infographic Remix: ACTA, Lethal Weapon Against your Rights!

Submitted on 20 Dec 2011 - 05:09

The fantastic folks from DerechoALeer.org designed this wonderful mash-up between two videos from La Quadrature: “RoboCopyright ACTA” (for the graphics) and “NO to ACTA” (for the text)! Thanks so much Juan! ♡

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