Acta didn't stand a chance in the age of the social internet; Guardian, 7/5/12

Charles Arthur, Guardian; Acta didn't stand a chance in the age of the social internet:

"The dismissal of Acta, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, by the European parliament has left the treaty's opponents delighted, and its supporters – who principally work in the industries that rely on copyright and trademarks, whether virtual or physical, for their living – downhearted.

Acta's creators had the poor luck – or lack of foresight – to create their baby in what feels like the Jurassic age of the social internet. They also made the bad decision to negotiate it in secret – the sort of thing that drives conspiracy theorists wild, but which is also sure to get anyone's antennae a bit twitchy. After all, if an agreement is for everyone's good, then why do its terms have to be kept secret?"

Europe Moves to Aid Digital Music Industry; New York Times, 7/10/12

Eric Pfanner, New York Times; Europe Moves to Aid Digital Music Industry:

"The European Commission plans to introduce legislation on Wednesday to bolster the digital music market in Europe by streamlining the methods of agencies that collect royalties on behalf of copyright holders.

Michel Barnier, the internal market commissioner, is expected to propose a bill aimed at resolving problems at the 250 collecting societies that operate in the European Union, some of which are holding back growth in digital music."

EU Negotiators Tentatively Agree On Plan For Orphan Works; Intellectual Property Watch, 6/9/12

Dugie Standeford, Intellectual Property Watch; EU Negotiators Tentatively Agree On Plan For Orphan Works:

"The measure will give European libraries, archives, film heritage institutions, public broadcasters and other organisations the appropriate legal framework to enable them to provide online, cross-border access to their collections, including orphan works, Barnier said. Greater legal security could boost funding of digitisation projects, he said."

EU bashes DRM, won't support "three strikes" rules, ARS Technica, 11/24/08

Via ARS Technica: EU bashes DRM, won't support "three strikes" rules:

"Try as they might, the French simply cannot seem to get the rest of the EU to go along with their favored measure for handling Internet piracy. The French, responding to requests from the content industry, have decided that illicit file-swapping demands a "graduated response," a euphemism for a three-strikes approach that would ultimately see ISPs cut off the Internet access of repeat pirates. The rest of Europe remains largely uncomfortable with this approach, and has managed to keep graduated response out of the EU's formal conclusions for dealing with online content and cultural material."

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081124-eu-bashes-drm-wont-support-three-strikes-rules.html