Dutch Publishing Organization Says Filesharing Should Be A Criminal Offense
from the bad-idea-of-the-day dept
Even though The Netherlands' plans for copyright enforcement are quite far reaching, the Dutch Publisher Association, which includes about 90% of Dutch publishers among its members, says it does not go far enough, and is now asking for criminal prosecution of filesharers. The Association also claims that the new policy justifies sanctions against downloaders, such as fines, "if only for the preventive effect." What stands out, is that the Association also wants equal rules for "paper and digital copies," which could possibly equate counterfeiting to filesharing. To top things off, the statement also opposes the state secretary's plans for introducing a fair use policy in The Netherlands.
While much of the response is predictable and needs no further discussion on my part (comments are open, discuss away!), I would like to highlight again the fact that they're arguing for bringing filesharers to criminal, instead of civil, courts. This, in my opinion, clearly displays the way current copyright law and its developments clash with certain civil rights (and perhaps human rights). This is not the first time such a measure has been suggested and it will not be the last time; the lobbies and the companies they represent are rapidly draining money. Making this a matter of criminal prosecution instead of civil suits would mean that these lawsuits would rapidly decrease in cost for the industry -- but puts that cost on the taxpayer. This burdens the overall government and taxpayer, but enables organizations to continue their fight against the internet, third party innovation and the loss of control.
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Filed Under: copyright, criminal, file sharing, netherlands
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PHHHHHHHHHHT!
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This would also clog up the court system with hundreds, if not thousands, of petty criminal complaints.
This makes the RIAA look intelligent.
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"It's so funny to see you frirates (freetard pirates) jiggle and scream every time the knot tightens around your friracy (freetard piracy). It's been a nice free (Continental) breakfast so far, but that will soon be over (those breakfasts are tiny)."
...
"Oh, and Mike is your ringleader."
I hope that captures the essence of TAM well. Now that that's out of the way, let's go back to your regularly scheduled online discussion.
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Y'know, usually, I'm pretty proud of my heritage... but at the moment, I'm glad I can't read dutch because if I could, I'd probably throw up in my mouth a little.
... damn you Google Translate... *hurk*
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Duh!
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It gets worse...
This has nothing to do with equal rules for paper and digital, it boils down to theft. They want to make it illegal to lend an e-book to a friend, as one can now freely do with a paper copy.
Google translation: http://is.gd/lrT0I2 (2nd to last paragraph)
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Re: It gets worse...
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I only engage in legal filesharing
Why do the Dutch Publishers want to make me into a criminal?
This plan is extremely silly. All it does is make "The Internet" into some kind of a unicast medium, like Tee Vee or Radio. "We publish the Content, you pay for the content". That's a load of rubbish.
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An example of a similar situation are soft drugs - yes, it is a criminal offence to buy, sell, possess, produce etc., BUT the OM has a policy not to prosecute in certain cases (small quantities for personal use, coffee shops following set criteria).
When it comes to file-sharing, I would say that "fair use" would probably be a sound reason not to prosecute. Thus having a criminal offence, and actually prosecuting people for sharing files is quite different, and fair use is quite consistent, at least in the Dutch context.
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I sooooo want to see this trend continue.
The result will almost certainly be a strong artistic counterculture in which copying and sharing are explicitly permitted and encouraged by authors and artists. Art which is predicated on entitlement, and which denies the reality of technological and cultural advances, will simply have no audience and no market.
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Computers share files, by design, that is the way it works. You can not send an email, post to Facebook or read the online NY Times without sharing files.
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Pro Bono Promotion?
Archivists R Us?
Popularity Metric?
Gateway to Gettin' Paid for [access, time, experience, physical product, performance, convenience, etc.]?
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serves them right
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Re: serves them right
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Sound like there's only one solution to this problem.
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