French Report Says: Kill Hadopi, But Let Its Legacy Live On

from the some-good,-some-bad dept

Mon, May 13th 2013 3:02pm — Mike Masnick

When Francois Hollande was running for President of France, he said that he would repeal Hadopi, the three strikes law and agency that enforces it, rolling back this effort which the entertainment industry had celebrated (France was the first to propose and implement such a plan). After elected, his culture minister, Aurelie Filippetti made it clear that she was not impressed by Hadopi and ordered a study of the effectiveness of the effort, led by Pierre Lescure -- a former entertainment industry executive -- to look at possible proposals. His report came out Monday morning and it suggests killing off Hadopi, but is still chock full of other bad ideas. Hadopi the agency would be done away with, but another agency would pick up some of the responsibilities, it's just that they'd greatly decrease the "punishment" aspect. Rather than losing internet access and having to pay up to €1,500, you'd keep your access and fines would be topped at €60.

But, on top of that, there are other policies that Lescure suggests that seem pretty bad as well, including extending the copyright levy (the "you must be a criminal tax") to cover smartphones, tablets and any other connected device. He also suggested turning search engines and ad networks into copyright cops, asking them to cut off those deemed to be involved in large scale infringement. We've discussed in the past why this is an idea that won't work and will likely stifle innovation while locking in some of the more dominant players (like Google), but governments do seem to like it.

The report does have a few good things to it: including getting publishers to finally release their content as ebooks, allowing more non-commercial remixing and such. In the end, it's a mixed bag, or as the French publication Le Point noted: l'Hadopi est morte, vive L'Hadopi (Hadopi is dead, long live Hadopi).

Of course, this is also just a report, with no binding aspect to it. The government may choose to ignore the whole thing or to pick and choose some parts to implement. Either way, it does make the key point that, for all the money the French taxpayers have put towards Hadopi, it's been a near total waste: "While illicit file sharing has dropped, legal paid services have not benefited as was hoped." It all goes back to the same point we've argued for years. The industry keeps thinking their goal is to get rid of piracy, when we've been saying that the real goal is to figure out ways to make more revenue. They -- incorrectly -- seem to feel that the first leads to the second, even as there is almost no proof to support that conjecture in the long term.

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Filed Under: aurelie filippetti, copyright, copyright levies, follow the money, france, francois hollande, hadopi, pierre lescure

16 Comments

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PopeyeLePoteaux, 13 May 2013 @ 3:16pm

And then France will be included in USTR's "Special 301 Report"...
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Anonymous Coward, 13 May 2013 @ 3:25pm

the one thing that is never ever mentioned is to forcibly get the entertainment industries to do a damn site more than they are to offer legitimate ways to download at more reasonable speeds, more reasonable prices and different formats. the other thing that is never mentioned is getting the entertainment industries to do their own dirty work at their own expense instead of getting everyone else to do the job at their expense!
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sehlat (profile), 13 May 2013 @ 3:30pm

Let Me Paraphrase Sun Tzu
Supreme excellence in the art of marketing is making the customer happy to give you money in exchange for what you offer.

The MPAA/RIAA/(most)Publishers seem to think using the law to extract money by force or threat of force is a perfectly satisfactory replacement for the above.
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out_of_the_blue, 13 May 2013 @ 3:41pm

Why would you pirates want to end Hadopi?
You sez that it increases piracy! -- Mike for some reason didn't grab the key part: "and the use of alternative unauthorized services such as streaming has increased"! -- Why do you want to lessen the pirate trend, Mike? -- See, he's not really with you guys.

"says a new report" ... that's apparently not even linked to, thwarting my own interpretation.

"Lescure's recommendations have no legal force, but will be used to inspire and inform government policy." -- SO this may be entirely PR fluff to dull the opposition, that's my bet.
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Rikuo (profile), 13 May 2013 @ 3:47pm

""says a new report"
You know, Mike didn't actually say those words, so I don't know where in hell you're quoting them from. Seriously, do a CTRL-F for "says a new report" and it's nowhere to be found in the article.

As for your first paragraph - attack, non-question (you don't really ask it, because you always ignore the answers we give you)
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Zakida Paul (profile), 13 May 2013 @ 4:32pm

Re:
I consider that a badge of honour. That list is a list of the countries who refuse to bend to the will of the US and their corporate paymasters. Very prestigious.
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Zakida Paul (profile), 13 May 2013 @ 4:35pm

Re: Let Me Paraphrase Sun Tzu
"Supreme excellence in the art of marketing is making the customer happy to give you money in exchange for what you offer."

This is why I am a huge fan of services like Bandcamp and Pledgemusic. They allow artists to connect with fans on a level not previously available. They allow fans to feel a deeper connection to the music because they know they helped make it happen. I have contributed to several projects on Pledge (2 still ongoing) and I will forever have a special connection with those artists and their music.

Honestly, I cannot put a price on that feeling.
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PopeyeLePoteaux, 13 May 2013 @ 4:46pm

Re: Re:
Agreed. I see it the same way, although it wouldn't be surprised if the US threatens France to put it in their naughty list.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 May 2013 @ 6:10pm

Re: Why would you pirates want to end Hadopi?
You're delusional (but then again, when aren't you?) if you think that the whole point of piracy is to demand an increase of piracy.

According to your logic, diseases increase the need for the pharmaceutical industry, so no one should stop diseases. We should bring back smallpox and polio.

And you wonder why your posts get reported. What a jackass.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 May 2013 @ 7:18pm

We've discussed in the past why this is an idea that won't work and will likely stifle innovation while locking in some of the more dominant players (like Google), but governments do seem to like it.

I guess Google rejected the funding of "Sky Is Rising II".
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2013 @ 1:13am

Re:
That would be the day... France has, even disregarding HADOPI, some of the most insane protectionistic measures in the world to prop up local employment. USA would deserve a spot in 301 far before France any day of the week since France is the motherload of what 301 is supporting!
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Anonymous Coward, 14 May 2013 @ 1:53am

" including extending the copyright levy (the "you must be a criminal tax") to cover smartphones, tablets and any other connected device."

Sorry, but if there's *any* such levy on digital products, whether devices or storage media, then non-commercial infringement ought to be permitted.

The copyright cartels shouldn't get to have it both ways - either they need to go after alleged "pirates", or they can tax the items "pirates" use.

If one is used, there's no legitimate reason for the other at all.
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Ninja (profile), 14 May 2013 @ 3:29am

Nothing we didn't expect right from the start right? Netflix, Spotify have been far more successful in tackling piracy than any law ever conceived. But what are they doing with those service? Ramping up the licensing fees or removing content in favor of a much more expensive and crappier service.

I tell you one thing, I used to support people buying stuff but after some years of seeing the MAFIAA screwing up artists, suing any good thing into bankruptcy and destroying ordinary people lives I just tell people to download to their hearts content and buy only from those not associated to the MAFIAA. Or better, donate directly to the artist, go to the shows. But keep the money away from these morons.
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Just John (profile), 14 May 2013 @ 10:16pm

France already has tariffs
Mike, just wanted to let you know, in my company, this is one thing we have already worked on. France already has tariffs smartphones, Tablets, and other devices.

Please feel free to check this website: http://www.copiefrance.fr/cms/site/cf-fr/homecf-fr/professionnels/tarifs-applicables-pro

Current tariff rates are:
Mobile phones enabling the display of music and videograms
Storage capacity Remuneration in �uros
per Giga byte (�/Gb)
up to 8 Gb 0,7000 � /Gb
Over 8 Gb up to 16 Gb 0,5000 � /Gb
Over 16 Gb up to 32 Gb 0,3095 � /Gb
Over 32 Gb up to 64 Gb 0,2360 � /Gb

Multimedia Tactile tablets running with a specific operating system or a mobile device
operating system
Storage capacity Remuneration in �uros
per Giga byte (�/Gb)
up to 8 Gb 0,8000 � /Gb
Over 8 Gb up to 16 Gb 0,5250 � /Gb
Over 16 Gb up to 32 Gb 0,3281 � /Gb
Over 32 Gb up to 64 Gb 0,1969 � /Gb
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Ninja (profile), 15 May 2013 @ 3:20am

Re: France already has tariffs
Why is hadopi in place then if you already paid for the content without even wanting?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2013 @ 4:21am

Re: Re: France already has tariffs
Same reason why PROs charge money for playing the radio to horses.
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