12 Mar, 2004: Report from EDRI on the Passage of the EU IP Enforcement Directive
EDRi Report on the Passage of the EU IP Enforcement Directive EU ADOPTS CONTESTED IPR ENFORCEMENT DIRECTIVE =================================================== On 9 March the European Parliament finally adopted the Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. The Strasbourg Plenary passed the text, which had previously been agreed behind closed doors by a handful of MEPs in no less than 11 informal meetings with the Council, without any amendment. Although majorities were much thinner than the rapporteur, French Conservative Janelly Fourtou, would have ...

11 Mar, 2004: EurActive coverage of IP Rights

11 Mar, 2004: EurActiv Report on Passage of Directive, with Links and Positions

10 Mar, 2004: Roll Call Vote Tally with Analysis from AEL (Association Electronique LIBRE)

9 Mar, 2004: La Comunita’ Europea fa passare una pericolosa legge sulla proprieta’ intellettuale nonostante il conflitto di interessi del MEP: Via libera alle perquisizioni notturne effettuate dall’industria discografica [Italian]
March 9, 2004Contact: Robin Gross, IP Justice Executive Director email: robin@ipjustice.org phone: +1 415-553-6261 - in San Francisco La Comunita' Europea fa passare una pericolosa legge sulla proprieta' intellettuale nonostante il conflitto di interessi del MEP Via libera alle perquisizioni notturne effettuate dall'industria discografica La Comunita' Europea fa passare una pericolosa legge sulla proprieta' intellettuale nonostante il conflitto di interessi del MEP Via libera alle perquisizioni notturne effettuate dall'industria discografica Oggi le liberta' civili in Europa hanno ...

9 Mar, 2004: EU Passes Dangerous IP Law, Despite MEP’s Conflict of Interest: “Midnight Knocks” by Recording Industry Get Go-Ahead
March 9, 2004Contact: Robin Gross, IP Justice Executive Director email: robin@ipjustice.org phone: +33 (0)3 88 15 49 00 (room 330) - in Strasbourg phone: +1 415-553-6261 - in San Francisco EU Passes Dangerous IP Law, Despite MEP’s Conflict of Interest “Midnight Knocks” by Recording Industry Executives Get Go-Ahead Civil liberties in Europe were handed a severe set-back today as the European Union Parliament passed a controversial directive that will treat average consumers who accidentally infringe a single copyright with the same harsh penalties formerly reserved for large commercial counterfeiters. The EU Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive creates powerful new enforcement measures to ...

9 Mar, 2004: Comments by MEP Cappato translated into English
Remarks of Italian MEP Marco Cappato - EU Plenary Debate 9 March 2004 (Translation from Italian): - - - - - - - Mr. President, unlike President Imbeni, I have no reason to celebrate and rejoice with the procedure followed, because an early conciliation, as the President has defined it, is not a good procedure. Conciliation has, for very good reasons, its own rules and its own development, so that many MEPs, and the Parliament itself, can be involved in the debate and in clarifying the doubts ...

9 Mar, 2004: Full text of 9 March EU Parliament Debate Now Available
Debate on March 9, 2004 (Posted March 12, 2004) See MEP Cappato's speech See MEP MacCormick's speech TOPIC: Propiedad intelectual Intellektuelle ejendomsrettigheder Schutz der Rechte an geistigem Eigentum Intellectual property Propriétté intellectuelle Proprietà intellettuale Intellectuele-eigendomsrechten Propriedade intelectual Tekijännoikeudet Immaterialrättter 2-025 Presidente. L'ordine del giorno reca la relazione (A5-0468/2003) della onorevole Janelly Fourtou, a nome della commissione giuridica e per il mercato interno, sulla proposta di direttiva del Parlamento europeo e del Consiglio relativa alle misure e alle procedure volte ad assicurare il rispetto dei diritti di proprietà intellettuale [COM(2003) 46 - C5- 0055/2003 - 2003/0024(COD)]. 2-026 Byrne, Commission. Mr ...

9 Mar, 2004: Report from Laurence Vandewalle of EU Green Party on passage of EU IP Enforcement Directive

9 Mar, 2004: Press Release from the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) (Word Document)

9 Mar, 2004: Press Release from EFA and the European Green Party on the Passage of the EU IP Enforcement Directive

9 Mar, 2004: 9 March Open Letter from Markus Beckedahl Regarding IP Enforcement Directive - “Willkommen im Reich der Intellectual Property - Mafia” [German]
Open letter from Markus Beckedahl regarding passage of IPR Directive9 March, 2004 Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung vom Netzwerk Neue Medien und dem Verein zur Förderung der Freien Software in Österreich: Willkommen im Reich der Intellectual Property - Mafia Breite Koalition aus Bürgerrechts-, Freie Software- und Verbraucherschutzverbänden kritisiert scharf die heute im Europaparlament beschlossene Richtlinie zur Durchsetzung von Geistigem Eigentum. Massive Kritik kam auch von zahlreichen Unternehen und deren Interessensvertretungen, wie etwa der Oesterreichischen Wirtschaftskammer oder Sun Microsystems. Juengst reihte sich auch das britische House of Lords in die Reihen der IP-Enforcement Gegner ein. Ohne grosse Diskussion ist heute in Strassburg direkt nach der ersten Lesung die Richtlinie zur Durchsetzung von Geistigem Eigentum abgestimmt worden. Während bei weniger umstrittenen Richtlinien zwei ...

9 Mar, 2004: Photos of 9 March 2004 Press Conference

8 Mar, 2004: Artist Statements Opposing EU IP Enforcement Directive [Word .doc of all 3 statements]

8 Mar, 2004: Artist Statement Opposing EU IP Enforcement Directive: John Perry Barlow
Why Artists Oppose the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive John Perry Barlow, The Grateful Dead “My name is John Perry Barlow, and I am a songwriter. I co-wrote about a quarter of the songs in the repertoire of the Grateful Dead, an American band. As an artist, I am vehemently opposed to the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive. While I agree with the directive in that "the protection of intellectual property must allow the inventor or creator to derive a legitimate profit from his invention or creation," I do not ...

8 Mar, 2004: Artist Statement Opposing EU IP Enforcement Directive: Alberto Cottica
Why Artists Oppose the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive Alberto Cottica, Fiamma Fumana “As an artist and songwriter, I am fully aware that it is NOT copyright protection paying my bills. What is paying my bills is the support I get from the audience. And it would not be intellectually honest to deny that private copies and file sharing have helped widening our fan base, exposing our music to more people than would otherwise have been possible. Once people get to like you they WANT ...

8 Mar, 2004: Artist Statement Opposing EU IP Enforcement Directive: Michael Franti
Why Artists Oppose the European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive Michael Franti, Spearhead “Prosecuting fans who share music files in order to prevent piracy is like outlawing sex to prevent pregnancy. I do not support the spirit of this legislation because it does more to punish fans than it does to help artists and labels adjust to the expansive future of the electronic revolution. Fans, labels and artists alike are going to need to make changes in the way we buy, sell and market ...

8 Mar, 2004: Consumers Rally at EU Today Against Dangerous IP Enforcement Directive: Artists Claim Law Will Not Help Them and Will Harm Consumers
Consumers Rally at EU Today Against Dangerous IP Enforcement Directive Artists Claim Law Will Not Help Them and Will Harm Consumers Consumers, artists, and representatives of civil liberties groups from across Europe will join together today in Strasbourg, France to demonstrate against the controversial European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive.The proposed directive is scheduled for debate and a final vote in the European Parliament tomorrow, 9 March, and threatens to become EU law two days later. The enforcement directive has been widely criticized for its lack of balance and over-broad scope, since it treats individuals who engage in unintentional non-commercial infringements ...

8 Mar, 2004: Rebuttal to Fourtou’s Positions (PDF)

8 Mar, 2004: Comments Made by Fortou Prior to Passage

8 Mar, 2004: MEP Marco Cappato Release Announcing 9 March Press Conference at EU: “Fourtou Report and Digital Freedom”

8 Mar, 2004: Photos from Consumer Rights Rally Against EU IP Rights Enforcement Directive

4 Mar, 2004: MEP Marco Cappato Release: 35 MEPs Table Amendments to Protect User’s Privacy and Ensure Proportionality and Fairness
EP/ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: 35 MEPs TABLE AMENDMENTS TO PROTECT USERS' PRIVACY, AND FOR PROPORTIONALITY OF COPYRIGHT SANCTIONS AND FAIR ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL PROCEDURES. Marco Cappato, Radical MEP, tabled 5 amendments on the proposal for a directive on measures and procedures to ensure the enforcement of intellectual property rights (Fourtou Report), with the backing of the Radical MEPs and signatories collected among the Green, ELDR, EPP, UEN and GUE Groups. The five amendments are aimed to protect individual privacy, limit the harmonisation of the enforcement of property rights only ...

3 Mar, 2004: EDRi/CODE Press Release: “Coalition Urges Rejection of Controversial EU IP Directive”

2 Mar, 2004: Coalition Urges Rejection of Controversial EU IP Directive
March 2, 2004 Consumer Rights Rally at EU in Strasbourg on 8 March: Coalition Urges Rejection of Controversial EU IP Directive An international coalition of civil liberties and consumer rights groups are holding a digital rights rally and press conference to oppose the controversial European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive on the eve of its final vote in EU Parliament. The meeting is set for 8 March, 2004 in Strasbourg, France, where a broad coalition will urge EU Members of Parliament to reject the controversial directive due to its excessive treatment of users and consumers for minor and non-commercial ...

2 Mar, 2004: Una Coalizione Esorta a Respingere la Controversa Direttiva Europea sulla Propriet` Intellettuale [French]
2 Marzo, 2004 Una Coalizione Esorta a Respingere la Controversa Direttiva Europea sulla Propriet` Intellettuale Una coalizazione internazionale di gruppi per i diritti dei consumatori e per le libert` civili stanno organizzando una manifestazione e una conferenza stampa per opporsi alla controversa Direttiva dell'Unione Europea per l'Imposizione dei Diritti di Propriet` Intelettuale (European Union Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive, IPRED) alla vigilia del voto finale in seno al Parlamento Europeo. L'incontro h fissato a Strasburgo (Francia) per l'8 Marzo; un'ampia coalizione esorter` i parlamentari europei ...

2 Mar, 2004: Coalition Urges Rejection of Controversial EU IP Directive