[FYI] EURO COPYRIGHT LAWS FACE NEW CHALLENGES

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.variety.com/body.asp?HbkId=4691936&CatId=NEWS&SubCat=22&Art
icleId=1117789517

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Updated: 11/22/00  

EURO COPYRIGHT LAWS FACE NEW CHALLENGES  

Restrictions may harm industry, say EACEM reps  

By ANDY STERN  

BRUSSELS -- Protections for rights holders in Europe are once again 
under threat as European Parliament opened talks Tuesday on planned 
changes to European Union law on copyright that are designed to limit 
possibilities for legally copying digital films, TV fare, music and 
books.  

Representatives of the European Assn. of Consumer Electronics 
Manufacturers met with members of Parliament this Monday to urge them 
not to reintroduce amendments to the copyright law that would limit 
distribution rights within Europe. They claim restrictions would 
deter consumers from buying digital devices and content, harming the 
European entertainment and consumer electronics industries. The group 
also argues that giving protection to technological measures risks 
leaving consumers unfairly treated if rights holders choose to block 
copying, even if the material being duplicated has been bought or 
otherwise legally acquired by the consumer.  

The major issue is likely to be amendments to guidelines covering the 
distribution of digitized material via the Internet.  

It's too early too say whether the newly elected members of 
Parliament, which is dominated by center-right parties, will take a 
different view from their predecessors, but given the switch from 
center-left to center-right, there is every chance they will. 
"Traditionally, Parliament has tended to take a more anti-industry 
position and to favor the rights of the artist, but the composition 
of the new Parliament may change all that," said Dennis Oswell of law 
firm Ashurst Morris Crisp in Brussels.  

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