IP weekly review (18
– 22 June 2012)
Another week has just passed and
it was definitely notable for the mix of changes / revisions of existing
copyright laws in different countries. There were some interesting, yet
contrasting approaches highly debated both in the media and on social networks
that deserve your attention.
One of the highlights is
certainly Canada and the C-11 Copyright Modernization Act. The long awaited copyright reforms have finally
cleared the House of Commons as the C-11 passed its final vote at the Third
Reading on Monday 18th June. Expected
to become law before the start of the summer recess, the C-11 doesn’t seem to
please everyone as it adopts some controversial
digital lock rules.
In Europe, a new
research claims that a narrow reading of copyright law exceptions can
result in an erosion of investment in new technologies. The study looks at the
impact of copyright policy changes in France & Germany on venture capital
investment in the Cloud, however represents a great resource for UK law makers as
well.
On another hand, business
secretary Vince Cable claims that changing copyright laws could bring an £8bn
boost to the British economy. We look forward to seeing the facts. Meanwhile,
the UK’s largest ISP, British Telecom, is the last one to join the blockade
against the Pirate Bay, following a court order. Ironically, it didn’t take
too long for users to find alternative ways of accessing the pirate website
which recently appealed
a copyright conviction in a Swedish court to European Court of Human Rights.
ACTA, the controversial
anti-piracy agreement, is one step closer to rejection, as the European Parliament’s
influential international trade committee voted against it on Thursday 21st
June. Find out more here.
Many negative reactions have
invaded the social media world with regard to the recent copyright law
revisions in Japan that could make watching
YouTube illegal from October this year and downloading
pirate content punishable with jail.
In contrast with Japan, Denmark
chose to fight against digital piracy not by punishing the end users, but by
focusing on creating
better legal offerings for end users and education. Moreover, the Danish ISPs and copyright
holders have agreed on a framework
that would see all ISPs in the country block access to copyright-infringing
content if one of the providers is ordered to do so by a court.
And last, but not least, The
Megaupload case might come to an end soon, as the site filed a court brief asking
the judge to decide whether to dismiss
criminal copyright infringement charges.
Have a great week and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @KLipcorp to
get the latest news in the IP world.