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EURO COPYRIGHT LAWS FACE NEW CHALLENGES

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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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