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Tag: copyright reform
56 organisations tell EU legislator to delete the absurd link tax
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightCreative Commons and 55 organisations sent a letter to the head of the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee, MEP Axel Voss, urging him to remove the harmful and counterproductive press publishers right from the EU copyright reform docket. Last month, we wrote about the proposal floated by Voss that would take the already-harmful press publishers…
Derecho de autor en el tratado de libre comercio Mercosur-Unión Europea: pocas mejoras y muchos retrocesos
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightPublicado originalmente en inglés el 6 de abril de 2018. Traducción: Equipo de CC Uruguay. Un borrador recientemente filtrado del tratado de libre comercio Mercosur-Unión Europea muestra pequeñas mejoras en el capítulo sobre propiedad intelectual. Parece que la extensión innecesaria e injustificada de 20 años de duración del derecho de autor ahora se elimina del acuerdo, y…
Direito autoral no tratado comercial Mercosul-UE: poucas melhoras e muitos retrocessos
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightPublicado originalmente em inglês em 6 de abril de 2018. Tradução: Ana Luiza Araújo Uma proposta recém vazada do tratado de livre comércio entre o Mercosul e a União Europeia mostra pequenas melhorias no capítulo sobre propriedade intelectual. Agora parece que a extensão desnecessária e injustificada dos prazos de direito de autor por 20 anos não…
Copyright in Mercosur-EU trade agreement: A little better, but mostly worse
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightA recently-leaked draft of the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement shows minor improvements to the chapter on intellectual property. It appears that the unnecessary and unwarranted 20 year copyright term extension is now dropped from the agreement, and the parties have introduced some flexibility for users to get around technical protection measures in order to leverage…
Head of copyright committee wants to deny EU creators the right to share
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightOver the last few years the European Union has been working on revising its rules on copyright. But the latest proposal from the head of the copyright committee would deny creators the right to refuse remuneration — the right to share a work without getting paid — which could undermine the use of CC licenses…
Create Refresh Campaign: Stop the EU Copyright Censorship Machine
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightThe Create Refresh campaign is a new project to highlight the concerns of creators regarding the EU’s proposed changes to copyright law. Supporting organisations include Creative Commons, Kennisland, La Quadrature du Net, and others. Create Refresh is “calling on creators to be part of a movement to defend their right to create. [The] ultimate aim…
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad DRM
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightToday is the annual #DayAgainstDRM, a global campaign to raise awareness about the harms of digital rights management (DRM). DRM consists of access control technologies or restrictive licensing agreements that attempt to restrict the use, modification, and distribution of legally-acquired works. There are serious problems with attaching DRM to creative works: not only does it…
Is Re-negotiating NAFTA Opening Pandora’s Box?
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightWithout a refocus on user rights, transparency, and meaningful public input, the agreement will become a bonanza for copyright maximalists This week Creative Commons submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) regarding negotiating objectives for the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA is the controversial trade…
Contribuye al Fondo de Defensa Legal de Diego Gómez
by Timothy Vollmer Copyright, Open AccessHace tres semanas reportamos que Diego Gómez, estudiante Colombiano demandado por compartir por internet un paper académico, ha sido absuelto de los cargos penales en su contra. Pero hace algunos días los abogados del denunciante apelaron a la decisión del juez de primera instancia, lo que implica que luego de varios años de procedimientos judiciales…
Contribute to the Diego Gómez Legal Defense Fund
by Timothy Vollmer Copyright, Open AccessSupport Diego by donating today! Three weeks ago we reported that Diego Gómez, the former Colombian student who’s been prosecuted for sharing a research paper online, had been acquitted of criminal charges. But within days of the ruling, the author’s lawyer appealed the decision, meaning that even after several years of unnecessary (and expensive) criminal…