|
Copyright
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Friday, 09 May 2008 07:19 |
|
 The French Government has vowed to press on with its plan to introduce anti-piracy legislation that would require ISPs to disconnect subscribers involved in multiple instances of illegal file-sharing. The statement made by the French Government came in response to the adoption by the European Parliament of a non-binding resolution condemning such disconnections as disproportionate and contrary to human rights. The Government plans to introduce its “graduated response” (or ‘three strikes’) bill before the French Parliament in June/ July 2008.
|
|
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Tuesday, 25 March 2008 00:41 |
 In October 2007, a Paris court ordered Google to pay €35,000 in damages for the copyright infringement of the documentary “ Tranquility Bay ”, multiple unauthorized copies of which had been posted on the video-sharing website Google Video. The court ruled that the hosting provider was liable for copyright infringement despite having disabled access to the copies within days after having been notified to do so by the rightholders. The court said that Google had been, from the moment of the first notification, under an obligation to implement the technical means to prevent the reappearance of the documentary. The court, observing that Google had not prevented the multiple postings of the documentary, ruled it had failed with its obligations and was therefore liable for copyright infringement. This is a controversial decision as it substantially extends the duties of hosting providers in dealing with infringing content. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Saturday, 15 March 2008 23:30 |
 ABSTRACT*: Dailymotion, a French video-sharing website, recently received bad news on the judicial front. This summer, it was sentenced by a Paris court to pay €23,001 ($33,400) in damages for the copyright infringement of the movie “Joyeux Noël”, an unauthorized copy of which had been made available on the website by an internet user. [1] [2] The court asserted that the hosting provider, because it had enabled and thrived on mass piracy, was under a general obligation to implement technical means to prevent unlawful activities. This controversial decision is worrying as it greatly expands the duties of Dailymotion with regards to piracy. Dailymotion has appealed the decision but face more judicial woes. It has also been sued for copyright infringement by a French comedian and could face another lawsuit from a French television broadcaster. Dailymotion would find little comfort in the fact that other video-sharing websites have not fared better in France. Internet giants Google, YouTube and MySpace also face copyright lawsuits. The “Joyeux Noël” case is symptomatic of the resolve of content producers in holding websites accountable for internet piracy. It also illustrates the challenges faced by the courts in defining the obligations of websites with regards to copyright infringement. In all, Dailymotion can expect protracted legal battles with users of the media industry over copyright issues. Yet, things might not be as grim as they appear. Every cloud has a silver lining. Looking through the prism of judicial activity gives an incomplete and distorted picture of Dailymotion’s relationship with the media industry. Dailymotion has been taking a series of measures to accommodate rightholders, both before and since the “Joyeux Noël” decision. It has been implementing filtering technology to prevent piracy and has actively been seeking partnerships with content producers. This strategy has shown promising results. Dailymotion has entered revenue-sharing deals with many media companies to broadcast their content. It has also managed to position itself as a global champion for copyright. These proactive measures towards copyright compliance and the links built with many content producers should help Dailymotion maintain the number of future copyright lawsuits at a level that would not jeopardize its survival. Such optimistic outlook might partly explain why, despite ongoing litigations, the financial backers of Dailymotion have been willing to invest a further €25 million to help the Paris-based start-up grow and compete on the global stage. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Monday, 19 November 2007 11:00 |
 In June, a Paris court ordered MySpace to pay almost €60,000 ($88,000) in damages to a French comedian for breach of his copyrights and personality rights. The court considered that MySpace, acting as a publisher, was liable for copyright infringement as unauthorized copies of the comedian’s work had been posted on the web page of a MySpace member. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Wednesday, 10 October 2007 15:59 |
|
 Deezer.com, a free on-demand music streaming website has signed a deal with Sony BMG , the second largest record label in the world, to allow the broadcasting of 165,000 titles from artists such as Justin Timberlake or Alicia Keys. This deal represents an important milestone both in digital music distribution and in Deezer’s difficult journey towards legality. Deezer, whose previous incarnation had been shut down for copyright improprieties, was re-launched this summer thanks to a royalty payment deal with a French collecting society representing music artists. To become fully legal, Deezer still had to secure individual deals with each record label, in order to obtain authorization to broadcast their music. This quest for authorizations got off to a bad start as Universal Music refused to cooperate, denouncing the service as illegal. The deal with Sony thus constitutes a decisive step in securing Deezer’s future and an opportunity for a major record label to test the viability of a new revenue stream. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Friday, 05 October 2007 22:36 |
 TF1, the French broadcaster of the hit TV show ‘Heroes’ has welcomed the success of its video-on-demand (VOD) offer which allows French internet users to watch episodes of the second season of Heroes just 24 hours after their original US broadcast. With more than 50,000 paid viewings of the first episode in three days, it is by far the most successful VOD product in France. And although these figures still pale in comparison with the estimated 1.5 million illegal downloads per episode for the first season in France, TF1 is confident that it is building a viable alternative to piracy. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Saturday, 15 September 2007 20:53 |
|
Universal Music has denounced as illegal the use by Deezer, a free on-demand streaming website, of songs from its music catalogue and has asked for their removal from the website. Although Deezer had recently been launched after reaching a deal on royalty payments with a French collecting society representing music artists, it was still negotiating individual deals with record labels to obtain their authorization to broadcast their music. Universal is the first label to declare its intention not to collaborate with Deezer. This decision can be explained in two ways. First, Universal wants to reassert its copyrights on its music catalogue. Secondly, it wants to protect a new music venture launched with Neuf, a French internet service provider (ISP) which also belongs to the Vivendi media conglomerate, and under which the customers of the ISP are given free access to Universal’s music. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Monday, 03 September 2007 13:28 |
 The Observer reports that "An unseemly row over some of the most illustrious names in world literature, including Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, has broken out over who owns the rights to their work.The rights to publish the work of the writers on the 'Calder list', which once included more Nobel Prize-winning authors than any other in the history of books, are at the centre of a cross-Channel battle that has seen angry words flying between some of the most famous publishing houses in the business." |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 30 August 2007 11:15 |
|
 In an unprecedented move to curb piracy, French television broadcaster TF1 has announced yesterday that it will make episodes of the second series of Heroes available on its video-on-demand (VOD) service 24 hours after their broadcast in the US. The deal between TF1 and NBC, (the US network which produces and distributes the series), ensures that the VOD service, TF1 vision, will offer the new episodes for download and streaming starting on September 25. The episodes will be subtitled in French and cost as little as €1.99 ($2.70) each (dependent on the pay package chosen).
|
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Tuesday, 28 August 2007 00:14 |
 A deal between Universal Music and Neuf-Cegetel, a French Internet Service Provider (ISP), allows the ISP’s customers to have unlimited access to songs in the Universal catalogue. At no extra-cost, Neuf’s broadband customers can listen, download and transfer all songs from one of the musical genres included in the label’s catalogue. The service is only accessible to continuing customers and is not compatible with Apple’s iPod. However, despite these limitations, and possible competition and antitrust concerns, the deal marks an interesting new development in digital content distribution. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 09 August 2007 18:21 |
 A French high-school student has been detained for questioning, and then released by the Police after he posted an unauthorized translation of the latest Harry Potter book on the Internet. Though he could, in theory, face stiff sentences for copyright infringement, the publisher has not yet pressed charges and seems unlikely to do so, given the non-commercial nature of the fan’s endeavor. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Saturday, 16 June 2007 20:39 |
.jpg "Image") French independent music labels have launched an action in Paris against P2P software publishers Streamcast/Morpheus and Azureus, claiming more than €20 million ($27 million) in damages for copyright infringement. Admittedly, the action faces many obstacles and is unlikely to have an impact on the general level of digital piracy. However, it is also intended as a means to pressure the French government into toughening copyright laws. Indeed, the music industry is currently lobbying for more efficient criminal sanctions against individual file-sharers.
|
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 14 June 2007 12:28 |
 The French Conseil d’Etat has overturned the decision by the French Data Protection Authority which had refused to authorise the tracking of peer-to-peer (P2P) users by music societies. The societies will now re-apply and almost certainly be granted authorisation for their automated program of P2P monitoring. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 11:42 |
|
France's top soccer league and its national tennis organization are the latest to join legal action against video-sharing site YouTube, CNET News reports. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Wednesday, 11 April 2007 15:00 |
 On Friday, April 6, the French government inaugurated the regulatory body in charge of ensuring that DRMs (Digital Rights Management) are made compatible and do not prevent users of copyrighted work to benefit from copyright exceptions . If successful, this DRM watchdog, the first of its kind in the world, might become a model in dealing with problems raised by DRMs. Already its mere introduction in French law eight months ago may have played a pivotal role in Apple’s recent decision to change its DRM policy and promote DRM-free music. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 29 March 2007 15:21 |
 Cinézime, a French Video On Demand (VOD) platform for independent movies, now offers some of its catalogue without DRMs (Digital Rights Management). Alongside DRM-protected movies the platform distributes 100 DRM-free movies, 30 of which are available free of charge. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 22 March 2007 11:53 |
|
Should artists be able to claim that the use of their music for torture constitutes a breach of their moral rights? |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Friday, 02 March 2007 13:21 |
 The Ministry of Justice has provided recommendations to the French judiciary on how acts of illegal file-sharing should be prosecuted and punished. The Government advocates for a measured response that would use the full force of the law against providers of peer-to-peer (P2P) software and uploaders, but leave most downloaders facing only small fines. |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Thursday, 22 February 2007 16:49 |
 Steve Jobs proposal to support DRM-free music had a distinct impact in France where Apple had been at the centre of a very heated debate on DRMs. The legality of DRMs had been tested in court and the new copyright law (known as Dadvsi) which imposes an interoperability requirement for DRMs was drafted with Apples FairPlay technology in mind. Unsurprisingly Apple had vigorously opposed the law, describing it as state-sponsored piracy. Therefore, Jobs U-turn on DRMs has been received with a mix of disbelief from independent labels, defiance from the majors (whose largest member is French-owned Universal Music), and a hint of self-congratulation from the Culture Minister (picture, right) who argues that the new law will guarantee interoperability whether DRMs are dropped or not.
|
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Tuesday, 09 January 2007 00:58 |
|
 From TechnoLlama (via Cedric Manara) A French court has ruled against Sony UK and Sony France over the use of DRM. Manara writes in the Cyberlaw mailing list: "A French court ruled against Sony France and Sony UK, in a case brought by a consumer group. Sony UK operates the website CONNECT Store, where French consumers can download music files in ATRAC 3 format. ATRAC 3 is a proprietary format, that can only be played on SONY players." |
|
Written by Nicolas Jondet
|
|
Monday, 08 January 2007 15:39 |
Here's an article I have just published on the new French copyright law, known as Dadvsi. This law recognises DRMs but also imposes an interoperability requirement for those DRMs. The law creates a new body to implement this interoperability requirement. N Jondet, "La France v. Apple: whos the dadvsi in DRMs?", (2006) 3:4 SCRIPT-ed 473 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SUBSCRIBE TO THE RSS FEED