Mass Protests Against ACTA All Across Europe
from the damn,-that's-a-lot-of-people dept
Despite freezing temperatures in parts of Europe, it appears that tons and tons of people turned up in person at the various anti-ACTA protests held all across Europe. The amount of people definitely exceeded most expectations. Some of the protests were especially impressive, such as those held in Munich, which you can see in the video below:What really amazes me about all of this is that ACTA was going on for nearly four years before pretty much anyone in the public started paying serious attention to it. And what caused it? The entertainment industry's massive overreach on SOPA. The response to that woke people up to other efforts by the industry to pass dangerous rules, laws and trade agreements in their favor -- and now the backlash seems to be in full swing.
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According to Heise,(German) the European Commission is not impressed with the protests.
Google Translate
Although questions are now asked by the minister of justice in Germany, most of the big parties still use the same reply, "It will not have any impact on existing laws" and "We need to stop theft of Imaginary Property"
Google Translate
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Bummer that the American people have gotten lazy about staying up to date.
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"We need to stop theft of Imaginary Property"
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"We need to stop theft of Imaginary Property"
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Keep repeating that to yourself. I realize it's a translation error, but it kinda highlights the big issue with calling a digital download theft, doesn't it?
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We should take this up and start calling IP imaginary property. I know I will!
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Aaaannnd in the red corner, Paul "One act of art should feed my familiy for 3 generations" Mono!
Lets get ready to rrRRRRuummblee!
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And it looks like Paul wasted no time and opened up with a classic "Ad Hominem attack", which Fred Tardoo quickly blocks. It's almost like Fred was already expecting it.
Now Fred answers with the "Hilarious comeback counter". He connects! Fred leaves Paul dazed and confused as the crowd goes wild!
...
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AND IT'S INSANE!!! HE JUST BOUGHT OFF A JUDGE WITH PROMISES OF A JOB AFTER THE MATCH!!!! INCONCEIVABLE!
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Yep, that's all it is about ... having to pay for stuff.
Thanks for the great summary, I'm sure everyone now realizes the error in their ways.
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Keep on underestimating your true opponent. I have no problem with that.
What you are failing to realize (or perhaps you do realize and are really trying to marginalize it) is that the Internet populace actually does know what this is all about.
Bottom line, this is a power struggle for control of the greatest communication platform known to humankind. The internet citizens are starting to become aware of the magnitude of this threat and are starting to rise in a single voice to say "No. We will not cede control of the internet to anyone."
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Good luck convincing him of that. I'm convinced that when they see the word "communication", they read "copyright theft."
Yo, AC. I advocate boycotts! The price of your solution, to civil liberties, is too high and I won't pay it.
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Chris from Poland and others, Ignore him.
Posts like this have been popping up all over the place ever since the SOPA protests.
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That said, the next wave of protests are supposed to be on the 25th. Let's see how the turnout will be then.
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Lithuanian position on ACTA
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACTA#Signatures_and_ratifications
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In this case, a good thing.
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Heh. The President of the United States signed it as an "executive agreement", which has not been ratified by Congress like an "international treaty" is supposed to be.
Many law professors believe that the The President lacks the authority to enter an agreement like this (even if it doesn't require changes in current law) because it would then bind Congress to current existing laws and not allow them the power to change them.
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BTW, there are many law professors and practitioners who believe the others are engaging in a misinformation campaign.
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BTW, the courts derive from Article 3. Guess under your view they too cannot do anything with respect to copyright law.
Seriously, the notion that only the Congress can deal with matters touching upon copyrights is wrong on so many fronts that it would take a law journal article to debunk all the permutations that persons concoct.
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It sure does:
"He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur;"
No other authority to enter into foreign agreements is granted in Article 2.
The "sole executive agreement," where the President may sign an agreement without Congress' consent, is a statutory ability not arising from the Constitution. Sole executive agreements can only be entered into, when the subject of the treaty lies with the Article 2 powers.
Copyrights and patents are not a power granted to the President in Article 2, but to Congress in Article 1, Section 8. Thus, any foreign agreements that influence copyright or patent laws cannot be the subject of sole executive agreements.
BTW, the courts derive from Article 3. Guess under your view they too cannot do anything with respect to copyright law.
They sure can't. They must enforce the law as written by Congress, subject to the Constitution.
They could not, for example, sign an agreement with judges in foreign countries, "harmonizing" search-and-seizure laws.
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The Constitution is a remarkable document, but like any other is suffers from the inability of its drafters (just like those who draft legislation) to address each and every issue that might ever arise in the future. Hence, in addition to express powers, constitutional jurisprudence long ago recognized the need to acknowledge the existence of implied powers.
As easy as is may be to default to the express language contained in the document, slavish reliance on only that which is specifically expressed would bring the functioning of government to a halt. Hence, the law is much more nuanced than many appear to believe.
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Now that's precisely what happened to the MAFIAA. They went so far in their greed and their hunger for power, extending copyright over and over, messing with public domain and finally with free speech that it backlashed greatly and now they won't be having their way again, not nearly as easily as before. Had the MAFIAA walked slowly implementing homeopathic doses towards a true draconian environment they might have got more than they'll ever get now.
In the end, they fell under the weight of their own greed. Hopefully SOPA aftermath will haunt them enough so that we can get the much needed copyright revisions in motion.
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'h**p://www.nzherald.co.nz/connect/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501833&objectid=10785247'
'The European Commission meanwhile published a document detailing the negotiation process of the pact, as it sought to defend itself against accusations of opacity.
"The EU strongly denies having provided any kind of preferential access to information to any group of stakeholders," it said.
"There are also no secret protocols to the agreement and the final text is fully public and available to all citizens on the website of the European Commission," it added.'
no good trying to defend itself when all attempts to have open consultations failed, with only the entertainment industries allowed into meetings with politicians. what's the point of making something public AFTER it has been decided? bit late for the EU Commission to try to look good now!
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We'll see what happens. I think the EP will where the battleground about ACTA will lie, and we haven't seen the US bringing out any guns as of yet, and they will bring out BIG guns.
What was also interesting is that some commentators here said that this could finally show that something like a European civil society is emerging. Admittedly this topic did not play a big role in the South and West of Europe yet, but in the East, North, and Central Europe it does, and within weeks Europe-wide protests were organized and coordinated. (links in German or French upon request)
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Malta: internet access declared a right
The actual rights mentioned are "the right to internet communication without hindrance; the right for information, from whatever sources including the internet; the right for individuals to be able to express themselves, including on the internet, within the context of what was allowed by civil society; and the right for individuals to decide what information to share, by internet and other means."
The protest movement welcomed this as a step in the right direction while pointing out ACTA goes beyond internet use.
Personally I think it was a day well spent.
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bunch of freetards? well under this regulation/treaty this will have an impact on legitimate authors of works! so NOPE its NOT about freetards you idiot! go crawl into that hole you crawled out of!
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Do you want dead artist's grandchildren to have to work in order to eat ..at luxury resturants ..for breakfast?
Sir your soul is cold as ice.
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This is a trademark/copyright/patent belonging to the band and any and all use of it in the world must be licensed.
Please go to www.getpaidforverylittle.org, enter your name and address and REF:15485485845878/AC/DE/487458656 in the case reference field. This one time use of "cold as ice" costs �1.99, all other uses, including people quoting your original will cost an additional �1.98.
Regards,
Foreigner Litigation Team.
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I am of course woefully sorry that I had the stomach to steal your property! Truly, I have shamed my parents!
However, it seems that your dite is experienceing some difficulties, hence my earnest attempts at reparation have thus far failed.
Perhaps it was seized by ICE?
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And no more more "Star Wars" or Big Bang Theory" for you to jerk off to.
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That's pretty funny considering that I don't even like Star Wars and wouldn't even give a crap show like BBT the time of day. Virtually everything produced today by the big media conglomerates is garbage.
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on the NON reporting of mainstream media
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Same here in the US too. Reports concerning Greece and the protests against their government's budget cuts, but very little mention of the ACTA protests.
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That's because major media is in bed with the same corps who helped craft ACTA, SOPA, PIPA and the looming TPP. They don't want to raise awareness because they don't want widespread outrage. But fret not, the internet is more than enough to help spread ACTA awareness.
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SOPA and PIPA as now pending could benefit from some changes, but those most intimately familiar with their contents are in my opinion much higher on the "accuracy" meter than can be said of their opponents.
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Luckily enough your opinion is of little weight.
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Since when have politicians cared about accuracy?
The labels and their supporters have distorted facts (counting a stolen $20 CD as 30-some dollars in losses), used scare tactics (piracy supports terrorists!), and resorted to ad-hominem attacks ("freetards" and "piracy apologists"). So I say it's high time for a little tit-for-tat. Don't like it? Too bad. These are the rules they came up with.
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What makes this comment so funny is that that the myth of lemmings running of cliffs in mass was created and perpetuated by Disney.
Think about that as you read the second part of the comment.
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ACTA Protests
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Soap box time
The Grammys are nothing but the music industry patting itself on the back, a prolonged advertisement for the products they want to advertise. The awards mean absolutely nothing in my eyes.
Nothing freaks industry suits out more than ordinary people having the capability to produce and distribute their own work on the internet, circumventing their scam business models. Nobody needs them anymore -- they're irrelevant. Independent artistry is the wave of the 21st century and they cannot put a stop to it.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: There should be a 10-year unrenewable digital copyright applied to wholly original products released within the last ten years. We must find a way to present this solution. It is ridiculous to justify incriminating people for uploading/downloading older content while simultaneously attempting to censor the internet at the behest of a few private entities.
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@Chris From Poland, nobody can generate more art and culture than the populace as a whole. What good does it do society to lock down every known consumable product, much less keep selling the same content over and over and over again? As far as your work is concerned, it sounds akin to some of the modern VG soundtracks. The production quality is spot-on to boot. Thanks for sharing and keep doing what you love.
Remember, nobody needs a private corp's permission nor funding in order to create, distribute and promote work.
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I think I'm going to put my DVR'ed copy of that on and have a White Russian.
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Here's my music for free. Enjoy!
http://www.reverbnation.com/wanderlustproject
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London Protest
I would had liked to have seen more people come along though, but the people that did attend were great. Distributed hundreds of leaflets to people during the march explaining why we were marching and explaining ACTA.
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Poor Reporting
The largest crime here is to simply say "thousands were involved" and to omit mention of the 200 cities we aimed at with at least one protest within every one of the 27 EU countries. They do not even say "tens of thousands", which we can easily prove in just two cities, then the true value should be over 200,000 people. That is an average of 1,000 a city but while our lowest was about 200, most did a lot better, then the big cities managed 5000, 10000 and more. Germany alone is reported to have done 90,000.
Then my other gripe is that none of these so called independent news sites made use of the vast array of photos and videos from this day to highlight the true scale of this massive operation. Even above you see one city where dozens more can be easily called up.
My last comment is that while this day was very impressive and congratulations to all involved it has also highlighted some weak areas where we need more work. For our first ever major protest though we can be happy and proud of what we achieved.
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I guess if it was not ACTA it would be Occupy, and if not either then something else.
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