Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the InternetThe internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama's administration refused to disclose due to "national security" concerns, has leaked. It's bad. It says:
• That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.
• That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.
• That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.
• Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)
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From MichaelGeist
November 03, 2009 -
said by MichaelGeist :
The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement negotiations continue in a few hours as Seoul, Korea plays host to the latest round of talks. The governments have posted the meeting agenda, which unsurprisingly focuses on the issue of Internet enforcement [UPDATE 11/4: Post on discussions for day two of ACTA talks, including the criminal enforcement provisions][UPDATE 11/5: Post on discussions for day three on transparency]. The United States has drafted the chapter under enormous secrecy, with selected groups granted access under strict non-disclosure agreements and other countries (including Canada) given physical, watermarked copies designed to guard against leaks.
Despite the efforts to combat leaks, information on the Internet chapter has begun to emerge (just as they did with the other elements of the treaty). Sources say that the draft text, modeled on the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement, focuses on following five issues:
1. Baseline obligations inspired by Article 41 of the TRIPs which focuses on the enforcement of intellectual property.
2. A requirement to establish third-party liability for copyright infringement.
3. Restrictions on limitations to 3rd party liability (ie. limited safe harbour rules for ISPs). For example, in order for ISPs to qualify for a safe harbour, they would be required establish policies to deter unauthorized storage and transmission of IP infringing content. Provisions are modeled under the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, namely Article 18.10.30 [pdf]. They include policies to terminate subscribers in appropriate circumstances. Notice-and-takedown, which is not currently the law in Canada nor a requirement under WIPO, would also be an ACTA requirement.
4. Anti-circumvention legislation that establishes a WIPO+ model by adopting both the WIPO Internet Treaties and the language currently found in U.S. free trade agreements that go beyond the WIPO treaty requirements. For example, the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement specifies the permitted exceptions to anti-circumvention rules. These follow the DMCA model (reverse engineering, computer testing, privacy, etc.) and do not include a fair use/fair dealing exception. Moreover, the free trade agreement clauses also include a requirement to ban the distribution of circumvention devices. The current draft does not include any obligation to ensure interoperability of DRM.
5. Rights Management provisions, also modeled on U.S. free trade treaty language.
If accurate (and these provisions are consistent with the U.S. approach for the past few years in bilateral trade negotiations) the combined effect of these provisions would dramatically reshape Canadian copyright law and to eliminate sovereign choice on domestic copyright policy. Having just concluded a national copyright consultation, these issues were at the heart of thousands of submissions. If Canada agrees to these ACTA terms, flexibility in WIPO implementation (as envisioned by the treaty) would be lost and Canada would be forced to implement a host of new reforms (this is precisely what U.S. lobbyists have said they would like to see happen). In other words, the very notion of a made-in-Canada approach to copyright would be gone.
The Internet chapter raises two additional issues. On the international front, it provides firm confirmation that ACTA is not a counterfeiting treaty, but a copyright treaty. These provisions involve copyright policy as no reasonable definition of counterfeiting would include these kinds of provisions. On the domestic front, it raises serious questions about the Canadian negotiation mandate. Negotiations from Foreign Affairs are typically constrained by either domestic law, a bill before the House of Commons, or the negotiation mandate letter. Since these provisions dramatically exceed current Canadian law and are not found in any bill presently before the House, Canadians should be asking whether the negotiation mandate letter has envisioned such dramatic changes to domestic copyright law. When combined with the other chapters that include statutory damages, search and seizure powers for border guards, anti-camcording rules, and mandatory disclosure of personal information requirements, it is clear that there is no bigger IP issue today than the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated behind closed doors this week in Korea.
Update: Further coverage from IDG and Numerama.
Update II: InternetNZ issues a press release expressing alarm, while EFF says the leaks "confirm everything that we feared about the secret ACTA negotiations." Electronic Frontiers Australia provides an Australian perspective on the ACTA dangers.
Update III: There are additional articles and postings from around the world (Germany, Italy, Sweden, UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands, U.S., Germany, Italy) as well as coverage from some of the most popular websites (Gizmodo, ReadWriteWeb, TorrentFreak, BoingBoing, Slashdot).
Update IV: See additional posts on Day two of the ACTA talks (Criminal provisions) and Day three (transparency).
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From MichaelGeist
November 04, 2009 -
said by MichaelGeist :
ACTA Negotiations, Day Two: What's On Tap
It is worth highlighting the ongoing criminal provisions as well. As previously leaked, the U.S. and Japan supplied the initial text for this chapter. Their proposal included:• extend criminal enforcement to both (1) cases of a commercial nature; and (2) cases involving significant willful copyright and trademark infringement even where there is no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain. In other words, non-commercial infringement could lead to criminal penalties
• each country would be required to establish a laundry list of penalties - including imprisonment - sufficient to deter future acts of infringement. The specific proposed language was "include sentences of imprisonment as well as monetary fines sufficiently high to provide a deterrent to future acts of infringement, consistent with a policy of removing the monetary incentive of the infringer."
• trafficking in fake packaging for movies or music would become a criminal act. The fake packaging provision provided:Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied, even absent willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy, at least in cases of knowing trafficking in:
(a) counterfeit labels affixed to, enclosing, or accompanying, or designed to be affixed to, enclose, or accompany the following:
(i) a phonogram,
(ii) a copy of a computer program or other literary work,
(iii) a copy of a motion picture or other audiovisual work,
(iv) documentation or packaging for such items; and
(b) counterfeit documentation or packaging for items of the type described in subparagraph (a); and
(c) illicit labels affixed to, enclosing, or accompanying, or designed to be affixed to, enclose, or accompany items of the type described in subparagraph (a).
• Criminalization of unauthorized camcording:Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied against any person who, without authorization of the holder of copyright or related rights in a motion picture or other audiovisual work, knowingly uses an audiovisual recording device to transmit or make a copy of or transmits to the public the motion picture or other audiovisual work, or any part thereof, from a performance of the motion picture or other audiovisual work in a motion picture exhibition facility open to the public.
On top of these provisions, there are full chapters on civil enforcement (including mandatory statutory damages) and border measures (including blocking shipments and new search powers). This is why I concluded yesterday that there is no bigger IP issue today than the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated behind closed doors this week in Korea.
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From MichaelGeist
November 05, 2009 -
said by Michael Geist :
ACTA Negotiations, Day Three: Secret Talks on Transparency
The current round of ACTA negotiations wrap up later today in Seoul, Korea. Having spent the first day focused on the now-leaked Internet provisions and the second day on the leaked criminal provisions, negotiators will spend this morning discussing whether they should make the draft treaty public. Many countries continue to face pressure on the transparency issue, with KEI posting a public letter to U.S. President Barack Obama this week on the issue. Past indications are that there is a split - some countries favour making the draft available immediately, while others prefer ongoing secrecy until the treaty is completed. Compromise positions apparently include allowing individual countries to make available text for which they are responsible.
At this stage, even ACTA supporters should be supportive of greater transparency. First, everything seems to leak anyways, so the substance of the treaty is already broadly known. Of course, there are specifics that have been shielded from public view, but there is enough out there to have generated an enormous backlash. Second, ACTA is quickly becoming so broadly discredited that it will be nearly impossible to garner public support for the treaty. "The secret copyright treaty" is hardly a selling feature for a treaty that may be dead-on-arrival in the minds of citizens around the world. Third, it is time for countries to make transparency a condition of participation. I have my doubts about the treaty as a whole - the recent Internet leaks should make it a non-starter from a Canadian perspective - but even if the substance is put to the side, governments should not be supporting secretive copyright talks.
The talks will end at 12:30 (Seoul time) with the release of a joint statement describing who participated along with a generic statement indicating discussions focused on Internet enforcement, criminal provisions, and transparency matters. It will conclude by indicating that the next round will be hosted by Mexico (most likely) in early 2010. But on a day devoted to secret talks on transparency, governments should drop the diplomatic language and be prepared to open up or get out.
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From Huffington Post
November 4, 2009 -
said by James Love :
ACTA -- A Patriot Act For the Internet
This week 40 or so countries are meeting in South Korea to consider text for a new international agreement on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. It is called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The term "counterfeiting" is designed to demonize the agreement critics as friends of organized crime, much like the name of the Patriot Act seemed better than the "Elimination of Civil Liberties Act." It is really an agreement that addresses a wide range of intellectual property enforcement issues -- involving patents, copyrights, trademarks and other IPR. (Details here)
If you are a lowly member of the public, the text is secret. The names of persons who attend the meetings are secret. The titles of the documents are secret. If you represent a big firm or law firm -- pretty much any big firm it seems, the U.S. government will show you documents after you sign a non-disclosure agreement - curbing your right to speak out on the contents of the documents you see.
Some details of the negotiation have leaked out, most recently from a memo by Euopean Union describing the Obama Administration proposal for a new global system of Internet controls and liabilities. Michael Geist, Gwen Hienz of EFF, and a few journalists -- most living outside of the U.S., have written about ACTA.
The entire U.S. tech sector has been publicly silent, as the Obama administration has co-oped them into trading silence for access to the secret documents.
At this point, Congress needs to stand up and put an end to this appalling spectacle of secret legislation on a global scale. How can politicians claim to be all for transparency, and allow this indefensible violation of the public right to know proceed?
A large number of organizations and people have written President Obama asking that he end the secrecy of the negotiation. It is doubtful this will happen unless newspapers write about the issue (aren't they big advocates of the right to know?), members of Congress weigh in, or if the critics of the secret negotiation can mobilize public opinion.
There is a lot at stake. Civil rights, privacy, rules for injunctions and damages against businesses and individuals, chilling of speech, the first sale doctrine, the global movement of medicines and other commodities, etc, will all be impacted by this ridiculously secret negotiation.
Earth to politicians -- you work for us, not the International Chamber of Commerce. Make this negotiation public!
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Blackbird @ 5th Nov 10:29PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by SUMware :
From BoingBoing
November 3, 2009 -
Somehow, I don't think this is the "change" many Americans were looking for. What ever happened to 'due process' and 'innocent until proven guilty'?? And they want to force the entire world into this morass as well? So much for our being a beacon of freedom to the world...From BoingBoing
November 3, 2009 -
said by Cory Doctorow :
...
• That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.
• That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.
...
Earth to politicians -- you work for us...
--
If God wanted us to work with electrons, He'd make them big enough to see...
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VikingBob @ 5th Nov 10:54PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
What ever happened to 'due process' and 'innocent until proven guilty'??
Indeed, what happened? Shameful.reply
Shriyash @ 5th Nov 11:20PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
LOL, this is totally fucking insane that
"the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright."
LOL bring on the overt in-your-face tyranny you nwo whores,
bring it on.
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OZO @ 5th Nov 11:34PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
This administration better be finally doing something to restore that fallen economy rather then prepare those highly biased "chapters under enormous secrecy"... It's a shame to find out about that. Instead of helping our country to recover they have a time and desire to do this :(
Looks like Obama doesn't want the next 4 years to be in the Office...
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Keep it simple, it'll become complex by itself...
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The Snowman @ 6th Nov 03:14AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
WoW.....I am at a lost for words. It would be interesting to learn who lobbied for this.
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dandelion @ 6th Nov 05:52AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by The Snowman :
WoW.....I am at a lost for words. It would be interesting to learn who lobbied for this.
Agreed, organizations with a LOT of money....and the government is wasting time and more of OUR money on this. :/WoW.....I am at a lost for words. It would be interesting to learn who lobbied for this.
--
Spare computer cycles can help find answers
Find A Cure!
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KodiacZiller @ 6th Nov 06:36AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Obama loves to pretend he is an anti-corporate "power to the people" socialist. The truth is he has obviously been bought and paid for by the MAFIAA and other affiliated criminal enterprises just like most other politicians.
I find this whole ACTA thing almost as disturbing as his "cap 'n trade" globalization plan which will cripple America's economy and make us subservient to some global environmental committee. It's funny, though, you will see Huffington Post bloggers complain non-stop about corporations lobbying for draconian copyright laws, but not a peep from them when environmental nut-jobs lobby for America's sovereignty be stripped by the snake oil that is "cap 'n trade." (By the way, "cap 'n trade" negotiations are going on right now as well). The far-left is fine with 1984 as long as 1984 is implemented for left-wing causes.
These are very sad times.
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SUMware @ 6th Nov 10:09AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
From The Register
6th November 2009 -
said by OUT-LAW.COM :
Don't panic over the secret copyright treaty
At least, not until we know what's in it
Negotiations have been going on for more than two years and people have consistently, and reasonably, called for elected governments to be more open about what is going on. Some worry that representatives of the industries most affected by copyright, such as the music and film businesses, are unduly influencing proceedings. Because we can't see what's going on, we can't make sure that that is not the case.
But this week speculation about the content of the eventual treaty in parts ran away with itself. Some leaks emerged about what might be in the final document and commentators were quick to cry foul. But if they look closer they will see that many of the provisions already exist in law, at least in the UK.
It has been said that each country that signed the treaty would have to create a 'laundry list' of penalties to deter people from infringing copyright on a commercial scale. That already exists in the UK. File-sharing could be prosecuted as a criminal offence under copyright law.
The treaty, it was said, would criminalise trading fake packaging for music and films. That is already an offence in the UK. Camcording films would be criminalised: again, that is law in the UK.
Some of the biggest shock was reserved for the idea of making ISPs liable for copyright infringements carried out by their subscribers. Yet that, too, is the case across the EU. If an ISP is told about a customer's copyright infringement or defamatory statement on pages it hosts, it must take action quickly otherwise it will be liable for the infringement.
The devil, of course, is in the detail. If the proposal is to make ISPs liable whether they know about illegal material or not, that would be an alarming development. Of course we don't know this, which is a flaw in the proceedings that critics are right to point out.
Under the plans, we are told, ISPs will have the chance to win back their immunity from liability if they behave in a certain way, reportedly along the lines laid out in a previous US trade agreement, this time directly with South Korea.
Again, though, that document describes a set-up that stops well short of the doomsday scenarios played out in reports and on blogs.
It says that countries should create "legal incentives for service providers to cooperate with copyright owners in deterring the unauthorized storage and transmission of copyrighted materials".
According to reports, ACTA also provides that ISPs will have to terminate subscribers "in appropriate circumstances". In the UK, a copyright owner can force an ISP to disconnect a subscriber that the ISP knows to be infringing content. The copyright owner has to prove its case before a court, though – and at this time we don't know that ACTA proposes anything less.
The legislation banning technologies that break content encryption will also be bracingly familiar to UK residents. That, too, is already outlawed here.
The scenarios outlined by protesters against ACTA are truly worrying. But they are also not grounded in the few snippets we have seen. Of course it is entirely possible that they are contained in parts of the text that have not leaked.
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The Snowman @ 6th Nov 10:39AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
So, is the U.S. now being modeled after the UK ? Are any other country ? Hell I can remember when other countries tried to model themselfs after the U.S., not so today.
The U.S. is drowning in a sea of corruption, dis-honesty. lies, drugs, you just name the poison. How much blackmail have the politians got themselfs into due to their own moral weakness and lack of being strong enough to withstand the temptations thrown at them.
These are questions that face each and every one of us daily. An there are no answers.
America has faced difficult times in the past an grew stronger from the experience. We can only hope that this will be the case in the future. Its still the greatest place in the world to live . For so many years we have been mis-led by industry......an the big money only grew bigger and more powerful. An now when the country is facing such high un-employment an people are at such a weaken state is industry making a move for even more control of how the public lives ?
This is not the UK......nor any other country. The very essence of America is innovation......the birth of new ideas. Is this now being slowly stripped away ?
Perhaps the biggest question is can the public stand up to the hugh amount of pressure it now faces from every direction. We still have the ability to vote.......use it or lose it.
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SUMware @ 6th Nov 10:50AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
A couple of quick remarks in response to your comments:
Unemployment now at 10.2%.
U6, the broadest measure of unemployment, hits 17.5%.
»www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm
Some are predicting that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will become an increasingly dominant player as US influence continues its decline.
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The Snowman @ 6th Nov 11:22AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Sumw,
thanks for those links.
_______________________
A related topic......but not completely:
www.dslreports.com/shownews/Will-Three-Strikes-Come-To-The-United-States-105364
_______________________
opps, loks like I did not post that link properly so if anyone cares to correct it feel free.......I have problems with posting links.
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dandelion @ 6th Nov 11:35AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
»EU sanctions 'three strikes' rule for illegal file sharers
(added another similar)
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SUMware @ 6th Nov 12:37PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
From Swedish Presidency of the European Union
06 November 2009 -
quote:
The 6th Round of Negotiations on Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement
The 6th round of negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was held in Seoul on November 4th to 6th, 2009, hosted by the Republic of Korea. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the EU Presidency (Sweden), and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States of America (alphabetically ordered).
The meeting was chaired by Mr. Gheewhan Kim, Director-General, and Ms. Miyon Lee, Director, Multilateral Trade Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Participants underlined the importance of ACTA as an agreement which shall provide for an enhanced framework to fight global infringement of intellectual property rights, particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy.
The discussions at the meeting were productive and focused on enforcement of rights in the digital environment and criminal enforcement. Participants also discussed the importance of transparency including the availability of opportunities for stakeholders and the public in general to provide meaningful input into the negotiating process.
Participants in the meeting agreed that the next meeting would be hosted by Mexico in January 2010. Participants also reaffirmed their commitment to continue their work with the aim of concluding the agreement as soon as possible in 2010.
ACTA Summary of Key Elements Under Discussion [pdf]
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coldmoon @ 6th Nov 12:52PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Hi,
Do you have another link or source for the PDF? Tried to open the link you provided and it crashed FF 3.5.4
Thanks
Mike
--
Returnil - 21st Century body armor for your PC
reply
SUMware @ 6th Nov 01:09PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by coldmoon :
Hi,
Do you have another link or source for the PDF? Tried to open the link you provided and it crashed FF 3.5.4
No other source nor link. Opens fine for me in Firefox 3.5.5. You could also try using an external pdf reader such as Foxit.Hi,
Do you have another link or source for the PDF? Tried to open the link you provided and it crashed FF 3.5.4
Edit: I've converted the pdf into a raw text version for you, attached above.
  ACTA.txt 13,274 bytesACTA.txt |
Rebirth @ 6th Nov 01:47PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Well, well, well, at LONG last it seems like more people are now finally starting to wake up as to what's REALLY happening in the USA, by .GOV and All the criminals behind them, that have been robbing you blind for so many years. Oh and ALL the other dispicable things as well, that they still havn't been arrested and imprisoned for, but should and could be.
As you've now probably realised it's going to get a LOT worse, and in so many ways too.
So what you gonna do about it hey ? Just sitting back and hoping it'll get better ain't gonna work, never did, and look where it's gotcha !
You need to Really get vocal, and active, and stop the bastards ASAP.
And of course it's not just the USA either, these are carefully orchestrated world events that are designed to make our lives hell on earth.
Wait and see if i'm wrong if you want, but by then it WILL be too late.
Less than 2 years and counting.
I know what i others like me are doing, so we're prepared, even though it still wont be good.
FIGHT THE POWER
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coldmoon @ 6th Nov 02:15PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Thanks, the text version worked well.
reply
SUMware @ 6th Nov 03:00PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
:)
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SUMware @ 6th Nov 09:07PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
From MichaelGeist
November 06, 2009 -
said by Michael Geist :
The Leaked ACTA Document
As the ACTA story begins to capture mainstream media attention (front page of the Ottawa Citizen, coverage from the Washington Post, NZ Herald, the Atlantic, Wired), the press release from the now-concluded Seoul talks should be released shortly [update: release out, exactly as predicted]. If the past releases are any indication, it will thank the Korean government and blandly describe the talks on Internet and criminal provisions. More informative is the actual document that served as the basis for my postings earlier this week (direct PDF download).
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SUMware @ 6th Nov 09:19PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
From The Atlantic Wire
November 04, 2009 -
said by Carl Franzen :
Secret Copyright Treaty Will Ruin the Internet
Bloggers are blasting the treaty, as you'd expect, but are also fulminating against the government's opacity, the companies' cooperation, and big news organizations for failing to sound the alarm:• Patricio Robles, Econsultancy: "ACTA could be the worst thing for the internet- ever…Not only would ACTA be bad for citizens of the member nations, it would put businesses in those member nations at a significant disadvantage."
• Mike Masnick, Techdirt: "There is simply no reason for ACTA, at all. It is nothing but an attempt by the entertainment industry to put massive restrictions on the internet, place liability on lots of third parties, and do nothing to push themselves to adapt to a changing marketplace with new business models."
• Jolie O'Dell, ReadWriteWeb: "Are international treaties governing Internet content and intellectual property even necessary? Insofar as they fly in the face of normative cultural practices and contradict or tighten existing national laws, we find these suggested measures inflexible and unrealistic."
• Nicholas Deleon, CrunchGear: "Everything’s very hush-hush, of course, and you don’t hear a damn thing about it on TV, no. No, that’s filled with crackpots on the left and right claiming that health care will fix everyone’s problems automatically or destroy the country as soon as it’s signed into law. As if things this complicated could be debated in 30-second segments."
• James Love, Huffington Post: "At this point, Congress needs to stand up and put an end to this appalling spectacle of secret legislation on a global scale. How can politicians claim to be all for transparency, and allow this indefensible violation of the public right to know proceed?…Earth to politicians -- you work for us, not the International Chamber of Commerce. Make this negotiation public!"
• Glyn Moody, Computerworld UK: "The whole ACTA saga is one of the most nauseating demonstrations of the contempt in which the Power-that-Be hold ordinary people and their interests. Sadly, it is not clear to me how to fight it…Any suggestions not involving insurrection?"
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Ender3rd @ 6th Nov 10:34PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
I feel perfectly secure with this treaty being written by people who have demonstrated such a vast technical understanding of the workings of the internet. You see, the internet is actually a series of tubes...
--
My Jeep is not an SUV. Your SUV is not a Jeep.
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Shriyash @ 11th Nov 11:09PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Meanwhile...
The New World Order came into being at 4:25 Tuesday afternoon.
»www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co···ionsbox1
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aefstoggaflm @ 14th Nov 03:56PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Wow, just wow. This is horrible.
I am not sure if you know it or not.
But it appears to be much worse...
Three strikes without prove, and then you are banned for life from the net.
Source: Security Now!, Episode 222 for November 12, 2009: Your questions, Steve's answers #79.
--
Please use the "yellow (IM) envelope" to contact me and please leave the URL intact.
reply
chrisretusn @ 14th Nov 05:23PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
Copyright gone amuck. The meaning of copyright has been twisted beyond it's original intent.. Copyright is being used to promote exclusiveness and monopolies over products or ideas. Copyright is being used to gobble up every possible idea or concept even theoretical ones. Things are being copyrighted that should not be copyrighted. Copyrights are being used what keep product prices high and stifle competition. Someone who can have make a similar product or the same product better and cheaper is prohibited from doing so under the guise of protection of intellectual property. It all crazy.
--
Chris
Living in Paradise!!
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EGeezer @ 14th Nov 05:40PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
It's not exactly secret. ACTA was initiated in 2007. The difference is that nobody cared when the other party was in power. Now they care, and rightfully so. When it comes government expansion of surveillance and loss of individual privacy and security, new boss=old boss.
As has been posted elsewhere, see »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Count···greement for some backround.
--
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis
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ross @ 14th Nov 06:31PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by SUMware :
From The Register
6th November 2009 -
What an asshole! Don't panic over the ACTA? The UK is so fucked up! They want everyone to just "wait and see". SEE WHAT? The fucking treaty details are SECRET!!!! Just another Brit twit asking if we wouldn't mind just picking up the soap they "accidentally" dropped in the shower. Hey, what's the harm?From The Register
6th November 2009 -
said by OUT-LAW.COM :
Don't panic over the secret copyright treaty
At least, not until we know what's in it
Negotiations have been going on for more than two years and people have consistently, and reasonably, called for elected governments to be more open about what is going on. Some worry that representatives of the industries most affected by copyright, such as the music and film businesses, are unduly influencing proceedings. Because we can't see what's going on, we can't make sure that that is not the case.
But this week speculation about the content of the eventual treaty in parts ran away with itself. Some leaks emerged about what might be in the final document and commentators were quick to cry foul. But if they look closer they will see that many of the provisions already exist in law, at least in the UK.
It has been said that each country that signed the treaty would have to create a 'laundry list' of penalties to deter people from infringing copyright on a commercial scale. That already exists in the UK. File-sharing could be prosecuted as a criminal offence under copyright law.
The treaty, it was said, would criminalise trading fake packaging for music and films. That is already an offence in the UK. Camcording films would be criminalised: again, that is law in the UK.
Some of the biggest shock was reserved for the idea of making ISPs liable for copyright infringements carried out by their subscribers. Yet that, too, is the case across the EU. If an ISP is told about a customer's copyright infringement or defamatory statement on pages it hosts, it must take action quickly otherwise it will be liable for the infringement.
The devil, of course, is in the detail. If the proposal is to make ISPs liable whether they know about illegal material or not, that would be an alarming development. Of course we don't know this, which is a flaw in the proceedings that critics are right to point out.
Under the plans, we are told, ISPs will have the chance to win back their immunity from liability if they behave in a certain way, reportedly along the lines laid out in a previous US trade agreement, this time directly with South Korea.
Again, though, that document describes a set-up that stops well short of the doomsday scenarios played out in reports and on blogs.
It says that countries should create "legal incentives for service providers to cooperate with copyright owners in deterring the unauthorized storage and transmission of copyrighted materials".
According to reports, ACTA also provides that ISPs will have to terminate subscribers "in appropriate circumstances". In the UK, a copyright owner can force an ISP to disconnect a subscriber that the ISP knows to be infringing content. The copyright owner has to prove its case before a court, though – and at this time we don't know that ACTA proposes anything less.
The legislation banning technologies that break content encryption will also be bracingly familiar to UK residents. That, too, is already outlawed here.
The scenarios outlined by protesters against ACTA are truly worrying. But they are also not grounded in the few snippets we have seen. Of course it is entirely possible that they are contained in parts of the text that have not leaked.
Ahhh, no thanks!
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SnowyOne @ 14th Nov 07:18PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by ross :
What an asshole! Don't panic over the ACTA? The UK is so fucked up! ...
How does your sense of panic affect anything except your blood pressure? It would be more effective to send a calm, cool & collective email to your congress person letting them know your position on the matter.What an asshole! Don't panic over the ACTA? The UK is so fucked up! ...
ps words like "asshole, fucked up" will make your email/opinion trivial.
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Shriyash @ 14th Nov 11:58PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by chrisretusn :
The meaning of copyright has been twisted beyond it's original intent.. Copyright is being used to promote exclusiveness and monopolies over products or ideas. Copyright is being used to gobble up every possible idea or concept even theoretical ones. Things are being copyrighted that should not be copyrighted. Copyrights are being used what keep product prices high and stifle competition. Someone who can have make a similar product or the same product better and cheaper is prohibited from doing so under the guise of protection of intellectual property. It all crazy.
Very well summed up.The meaning of copyright has been twisted beyond it's original intent.. Copyright is being used to promote exclusiveness and monopolies over products or ideas. Copyright is being used to gobble up every possible idea or concept even theoretical ones. Things are being copyrighted that should not be copyrighted. Copyrights are being used what keep product prices high and stifle competition. Someone who can have make a similar product or the same product better and cheaper is prohibited from doing so under the guise of protection of intellectual property. It all crazy.
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Shriyash @ 15th Nov 12:02AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by ross :
They want everyone to just "wait and see". SEE WHAT? The fucking treaty details are SECRET!!!! Just another Brit twit asking if we wouldn't mind just picking up the soap they "accidentally" dropped in the shower. Hey, what's the harm? Ahhh, no thanks!
Exactly, but apparently you are a 'tin-foil hat' whatever if all this secrecy makes you nervous......They want everyone to just "wait and see". SEE WHAT? The fucking treaty details are SECRET!!!! Just another Brit twit asking if we wouldn't mind just picking up the soap they "accidentally" dropped in the shower. Hey, what's the harm? Ahhh, no thanks!
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ross @ 15th Nov 04:47AM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
said by SnowyOne :
ps words like "asshole, fucked up" will make your email/opinion trivial.
I'm not panicked yet, but everyone should be leary. ACTA will change everything! It also pisses me off that here is yet another example of rule by elitist special interests who have no regard for the public weal, and, right on time, up steps some Brit fop apologist to cajole the populace into acceptance. He's just another "if you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to worry about", "move along, nothing to see here" type. That makes him an asshole in my book.said by ross :
What an asshole! Don't panic over the ACTA? The UK is so fucked up! ...
How does your sense of panic affect anything except your blood pressure? It would be more effective to send a calm, cool & collective email to your congress person letting them know your position on the matter.What an asshole! Don't panic over the ACTA? The UK is so fucked up! ...
ps words like "asshole, fucked up" will make your email/opinion trivial.
I don't know about yours, but my representatives all seem to be bought and paid for by the entertainment industry, as are a majority of both houses. Fat lot of good it will do to write to my reps, who will probably send me some canned reply like, "I can't comment on the ACTA, as I haven't seen it". I expect the senate to rubber stamp the treaty as soon as it is presented for confirmation.
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norwegian @ 15th Nov 05:41PM:
Re: Secret Copyright Treaty - Patriot Act For the Internet
I can not believe it all.
The issue of ISP's, filters or any such load of baloney is only a way of getting "in amongst the end users". It is basically wire-tapping in a legal form, with no need warrants. This may be an extreme view of these events, but with all the secrecy for this and may other forms of so-called protection, what else can you 'label' it as?
If anything needs to be monitored, maybe look at all web-sites needing registration for the internet?
The belief that ISP's need to be involved at all means to me 1 thing, basically, you are guilty till proven innocent. There is so much blatant "guilty" ruling of late bought into place in general life, that you can not see this type of approach to "looking after the internet" as anything but a similar approach.
The digital age was forced upon us, and now we can to be "condemned" for using it by those that supply the product that makes it all connect-able. (Is this a gun, a speed camera detector or a chemical of "bounding outside the local chemist" type?")
The ISP are a shop front, not a law enforcement agency.
Unless it is really only to help cover DRM, copyright of movies etc, I can't view this any other way.
Leave the ISP's out of it and capture the law-breakers by the correct methods, IE, reasonable, probable, or justifiable cause, due process, and the paperwork in place to force the hand over of information. Then if proven guilty, by all means request the ISP to ban a user.
note: Even that though with the chances of being 'innocent' but found guilty will still happen once in a while, and I would think mostly from some form of exploit, malware or other such nonsense. I can imagine by 2020, all ISP's will become an "online police station", what a load of bollocks.
Edit: grammer. :)
--
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke
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