On 12 Aug 2003 at 0:54, The Fool wrote: > http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020505,39115479,00.htm > > New Euro law could make criminals of us all Rupert Goodwins > ZDNet UK > August 05, 2003, 10:00 BST > > > New legislation from the EU could lock up buskers and criminalise > spare tyres. But it's not all good news > > > Welcome, European citizen, to a new world of criminality -- a world > where you're the star. The IP Enforcement Directive, a proposed new > law from the EU, has been attracting some attention from the usual > quarters. In particular, the sainted Ross Anderson of Cambridge > University has rolled out a masterly analysis of the threat to many of > our accepted civil liberties and commercial freedoms. Yet even a > cursory readthrough reveals much to be worried about. > > > The proposal is a hefty document with no shortage of long sentences. A > third of the way through the 54 pages, we've learned that piracy and > counterfeiting is bad and that different states have different ways of > dealing with it -- also bad. So far, who's arguing? But the solution > proposed is to criminalise many civil infringements and to back that > up with thudding great powers spring-loaded in favour of the big guys. > > > By page 20, we're into the meat. Impressed by the UK's Anton Pillar > orders -- where your premises can be searched and documents and > computers seized without warning -- the proposal seeks to make this a > standard European-wide process for intellectual property rights > infringements. This is to be backed by freezing of bank accounts and > other assets. You can do this now in the UK and many states with > legislation based on English law, but it's a fairly rare procedure.
Indeed. The only time I've heard of it's use is in connection with multi-year investigations into drug smuggling and child pornography. The kicker is, this law is NOT going to stand a chance in hell. Take the issue of "smart chips". The EU Parliament has passed a law banning the use of them in printers from the middle of next year. There's no way they're going to approve wider use of a technology they've proven the hard way - action - to dislike. Even if it was passed, it would swiftly be struck down by the courts, thanks to the vast amount of power the Human Rights Act has granted them. Plus, fair use has allready been confirmed as protected at the European level. There will allways be nutty bills. Dosn't mean they'll pass. The EU Parliament is a lot more in tune with technological matters than the US legistlature. Andy Dawn Falcon _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
