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Tag: public policy
Traditional Knowledge and the Commons: The Open Movement, Listening, and Learning
by Mehtab Khan Licenses & ToolsCC licenses and public domain tools help individuals, organisations, and public institutions better disseminate digital resources and data, breaking down the typical barriers associated with traditional “all rights reserved” copyright. At the same time, CC licenses can’t do everything for everyone. First, the licenses operate in the sphere of copyright and similar rights. They do…
Red Alert for Net Neutrality
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightToday Creative Commons is joining dozens of organisations in the Red Alert for Net Neutrality. The action calls on individuals to contact Congress with phone calls, emails, and tweets in support of the upcoming Senate vote on a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the FCC’s repeal of net neutrality. The open internet protections must…
European Commission forging ahead to boost public sector information and open science
by Timothy Vollmer Open Access, Open Data, Open ScienceWhile the EU copyright reform teeters on the edge of turning into a complete disaster, last week the European Commission published a proposal for a revision of the Directive on the reuse of public sector information (PSI Directive), and a recommendation on access to and preservation of scientific information. Both of these documents are…
Mexican Senate passes changes to copyright law that would censor content online
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightDigital rights organisations in Mexico are sounding the alarm after the Senate approved changes to the copyright law that would censor information online. The measures would allow for the preemptive removal of content without having to prove that a copyright infringement has actually taken place. Yesterday the Senate approved the modifications to the Federal Copyright…
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…
Tell the Canadian government to ignore Bell’s terrible idea to block websites
by Timothy Vollmer CopyrightEarlier this month Bell and a group of Canadian telecommunications and media companies submitted a proposal that asks the Canadian government to identify websites engaged in content piracy and compel internet service providers to block access to those sites. Specifically, the proposal asks the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to set up an “Internet…