[FYI] (Fwd) FC: More on anti-piracy going too far -- or not -- and I

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

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:11:56 -0500
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	FC: More on anti-piracy going too far -- or not -- and Italy's law
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com


***********

From: Mark.F.Schultz@BakerNet.com
To: declan@well.com
Subject: RE: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in Italy
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 14:39:13 -0600

Declan:

If the interpretation offered by Associazione Software Libero of
Italian law 248/2000 is correct (i.e., if you do not have an official
stamp on ANY software media in Italy you could go to jail), then it is
indeed quite bad for both commercial and open-source developers. 
However, lest this interpretation spreads without challenge, I should
tell you that my Italian colleagues find this interpretation doubtful.

To put it as short as possible:  This portion of the law is very
controversial and confusing, industry people are contending that it
applies only to software that contains "sounds, voices or images" (I
don't know what is meant exactly by images), and everybody is waiting
for a regulation that is mandated by the law and that will provide
further guidance.  Until the regulation comes out, things are
uncertain.  Will the result be as harsh as the Associazione predicted?
 Possibly, but a lot of people seem to think not and have a stake in
making sure that this is not the case.  As usual, your mileage may
vary, please consult competent Italian counsel before selling or
importing software into Italy.

So, is it possible that Italian advocacy groups use worst case
scenarios to make a point, just like American advocacy groups?  Yup.

Regards,

Mark Schultz
IT/E-commerce Practice Group
Baker & McKenzie
Chicago, IL

***********

From: Richard Lyons <richard@the-place.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 20:09:13 GMT
Subject: Re: FC: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in
Italy To: declan@well.com

Anyone want to start an internet business selling trendy italian
stickers to decorate your CDroms -- purely for recreational use of
course...

ricardo

***********

Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 14:48:35 -0500
From: "Dana Colarulli" <dcolarulli@verner.com>
To: <declan@well.com>
Cc: <Prsdnt16@aol.com>
Subject: Re: FC: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in
 Italy

Decan:
In reference to your email with the above subject line, I also saw the
below clip from the National Journal - - which might interest you. 
IIPA referenced the Italian requirement in its submission to the USTR
Special 301/"Watch List" process.  The comment period for the process
ended Friday, 2/16 at noon. The USTR received 18 submissions in total.
 I'll be over at USTR tomorrow (imagine: basement federal office/no
windows/surrounded by file cabinets) looking at the IIPA and other
comments on international IP violations (music/software).

On the 16th, the IIPA reported that its submission said "Taiwan,
Indonesia and the Philippines  remain home to some of the world's
largest organized crime syndicates that are actively engaged in the
distribution of pirated  CDs. The report notes that while Egypt,
Russian, Malaysia, and  Brazil are still hotbeds of bogus goods,
governments in those  countries have made efforts to adopt new
regulations aimed at  clamping down on such activities." (Newsbytes,
02.16.01) - dana

**********************
National Journal's Technology Daily February 20, 2001
February 20, 2001

PIRACY: Watchdogs Target Italian Piracy Protections

A cadre of software publishers, moviemakers, record companies  and
other intellectual property heavyweight Monday asked the  U.S.
government to turn up the heat on Italy to abide by  international
piracy protection guidelines, reports Newsbytes.  The International
Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) Friday  unveiled its proposals
for the internationally dreaded "Special  301" list. Updated each year
by the U.S. Trade Representative's  office, the Special 301 list
identifies countries that officials  say are not living up to their
obligations to prevent piracy of  U.S. intellectual property products.
Business Software Alliance  President Robert Holleyman said the IIPA
focused on Italy mainly  because the Italian government has imposed a
new requirement  that legitimate software and other media be adorned
with a  sticker issued by an Italian agency. Products not bearing the 
sticker will not receive full piracy protection under Italian  law.


*************************************
Mr. Dana Colarulli
Law Clerk, Internet Ventures Group
Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand
202.371.6217 (ph)
202.371.6279 (fax)
dcolarulli@verner.com
*************************************




----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing
list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To
subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This
message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
----------------------------------------------------------------------
---

------- End of forwarded message -------