It's hard to over-emphasise how much power this will give to established manufacturers, and how difficult it will be for anyone to compete in their spheres of influence. Ask yourself whether DVD region locks and smart ink-jet cartridges have been used to benefit the consumer, or whether they've been used to keep prices up and choice down: now, imagine the same power of control being given to any manufactured goods.
You want to change the tyres on your 2006 model Ford Prefect? Anything other than genuine Ford tyres -- with the genuine Ford ID chip -- will disable your car. Your Sony MP3-playing nasal hair trimmer will only work with genuine Sony batteries: don't even think about trying to make alternatives, because that'll make you a criminal. And no, you can't buy those jeans -- the RFID chip in the label says they're only for sale in America. By the way, the same RFID chips on the clothes you are allowed to buy may well be radiating all manner of things about your location: you're not allowed to find out for yourself, as possession of an unlicensed receiver is a criminal act.
This wholesale criminalisation of anything that might be at risk of contravening IPR goes deep. If you go busking and play a Beatles song, you should pay a few pence to whoever owns the rights: it's impracticable and pointless, and however much you may be in pain from yet another awful warbling of Yesterday nobody suffers from the minor civil infringement of the rules. In the brave new world of the Directive, singing that song in public with your hat on the floor would be a crime, if you didn't pay the dues. You can imagine how much the police are going to enjoy having to cope with that.
By effectively conflating counterfeiting and piracy and criminalising large rafts of IP abuse, the proposal creates legal weaponry of extraordinary power and range while making targets of us all. The FAQ issued with the proposal touches on this, claiming that proportionality -- making the punishment fit the crime -- is part of the plan. But this appears to be left to the companies concerned: the FAQ stating piously that “it is not in the interest of rightholders to spend a lot of time and money in litigation to catch offenders who are simply sharing a few files with a handful of friends,” for example. Yeah, tell that to the Americans.
And we know how companies love to use anything in their power to block the open market and extract as much money from us as possible. They have to -- it's called maximising return on investment, and it's quite possible that any company that doesn't use the new law to its fullest extent will be open to legal action from its shareholders. The fiat of big business runs all the way through the directive. They have the power, the motivation and the money to lobby intensively at the highest level for their own benefit, while the consumers and citizens of the EU are individuals, unorganised, unaware and unmotivated.
The EU, like any government, has a duty to balance the powers and rights of individuals and companies in order to promote the best environment for us all. In the case of this directive, it is not doing its job. The directive goes before the European Parliament on 11 September -- a masterpiece of timing for a controversial measure -- so if you care, make sure your MEP knows what's going on and what you think about it. All property may not be theft, but on this basis intellectual property is verging on thought crime.
Talkback
This looks clearly like it was written by lawyers working for the major record labels and film companies. let's look at some history.
When sheet music was sold, it was these companies who wanted to ban recorded music, until they found a way to sell and make money from records.
When records were the major money-spinner, they attempted to stop the cassette system from being introduced, then moved to "home taping is killing music", until they introduced their own cassettes.
In recent years, they lobbied the EU to ban Internet caching as a "prima facie case of copying".
Now they are after the file-sharers, of course this will stop as soon as they have a way to gather money from it.
Personally, I have bought many records and CDs from artists who I first heard because someone made me a copy, radio and especially Internet radio stations introduce us to new artists.
I have also paid multiple times for the same record, on single, vinyl album, CD and multiple compilations, "Make me smile" by Steve Harley anyone?
More power to those artists who eschew the large record companies and issue releases themselves - a plague on all your houses.
I read with great interest the article on how new Euro laws could make criminals of us all - Rupert Goodwins dated 05/08/03, especially the part regarding RFID tags and how - "The protection for these systems includes outright bans on the creation, selling and use of equipment that can interfere with their operation" - I assume that the RFID tags are Susceptible to microwave energy since they are sensitive electronic components, this could mean that if I purchased a pair of jeans that had RFID tags imbedded in them I could place them in a microwave oven and blast them with microwave energy to disable the tags, would this make microwave ovens illegal? Or how about hammers, I could in theory hit every part of the clothing in question to destroy the chips (and the clothing itself as well I suspect), would this make hammers illegal?
Where and when is all of this madness going to end? At current rates it will be impossible not to break a law every day of our lives.
I don't down load Songs off of the internet and never did but to be told that I can't put differant brand of tires on my car is wrong or for some one to be arrested for singing a song on the street to make a living because he didn't pay dues for that song is simply stupid.
These Guys need to get a Job or find a hobby anything to keep them bussy enough that they don't have time to think.
There is a God Who so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that we might learn how to live with one another. The world as a whole has rejected His instructions and is now forced to rely on its own wisdom. Despite our scientific gains humans aren't clever enough to run their own affairs and we must now face the consequences of rejecting the only One Who had the power to prevent this madness descending upon us. You may still save yourself by bending the knee to Jesus and asking for forgiveness.
Hey Frank Selch.
God doesn't exist. If he did, surely he would strike me down for saying that?....
.
.
Hmm, I'm still here.
So take your god bothering elsewhere. It has no place here.
I think people need to take a greater interest in what is going on in the world, collectively.
We are well aware that there is going to come a time when it will be difficult to buy food, clothes etc if we do not have "the mark".
Some people believe this will be some kind of chip which will contain personal details about ourselves such as national ID no, address, blood group.
You belittled the gentleman who dared to mention God but I think we all need to look more deeply as to what and why things are happening.
Dear Squiffy,
why do you sem so bothered and threatened by some one elses opinions? What are you afraid of by accepting that everyone is entitled to their ideas. So you don't believe in God, that is ok for you, but if i don't believe in something all that means is my opinon is different to yours and that is acceptable. what a boring world if we all had the same ideas.
P.S. Frank Selch is my Dad, and we don't have the same ideas on most topics but we still love and respect each other non the less, and allow each other those ideas
You make a stand I am poud of you, you have respect and consideration for others - your mother xxooo
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