U.S.">http://news.com.com/2061-11199_3-6006625.html?part=rss&tag=6006625&subj=news">U.S. vs. the world on file-sharing

December 23, 2005 7:00 AM PST
C-Net

Is the United States getting increasingly out of touch with the rest of the world where technology matters are concerned? This week, members of the French Parliament voted to allow free downloads of copyrighted material, a move with provisions similar to a ruling last year by a Canadian judge.

Philosophical differences between the U.S. government and other countries have become abundantly clear in technology-related business matters, as seen in the European Commission's antitrust actions against Microsoft. And other nations have become frustrated with the United States' influence over accepted behavior on the Internet, a medium that ostensibly has no geographic boundaries.

Hollywood's powerful lobbying machine has managed to hold sway in Congress, but its influence wanes quickly beyond U.S. borders. Will an international backlash eventually force fundamental changes in long-held concepts of copyright protections?

I'm getting really sick of Hollywood trying to force their fascist laws on me every time I'm at the cinema.

Treaties and conventions assure that whatever the US does for copyright, the rest of the world is likely to follow. That is how I ended up living in a country with its own version of the DMCA - all WIPO members are required to impliment some form of it.

So far the lobbying in Europe to extend copyright terms to match those in the US (lobbyists still call it 'harmonising' copyright law) have had no effect. But its only a matter of time, with noone at all opposing it.

I strongly disagree with you, goldenpi. Almost everyone in Europe is fed up with American influence in all domains of life. The notion that this is the unwelcome intrusion is becoming stronger with each day. George Bush is being constantly compared to Adolf Hitler (and portrayed so), lots of people, including politicians, talk about 'American imperialism that must be stopped'. Remember, that the software patents have been abolished by the European Parliament despite _heavy_ lobbying by the US diplomacy. Or, marijuana is de facto decriminalzed in Netherlands (they even plan to legalize cultivation of cannabis indica) and Belgium.There is also a widespread resistance to the war in Iraq.

There might be some pro-DMCA movements in Europe, but they are week and rather local than US-driven.
Even EUCD is being implemented in most countries as a very week regulation, without any meaning. And the judicary is totally different than in the USA. In most countries, for example, there is NO system of precedent: every judge is independent in sentencing a verdict from other verdicts in similiar cases.

In Liberty,
Critto

Hey Critto, I am an American and I compare Bush to Hitler all the time. I just hope Europeans and the rest of the world know that by no stretch of the imagination does Bush represent the values and idealologies of all Americans. I don't think there has been one thing in the last five years Bush has said that I agree with and I cannot wait for him to take leave of the White House. Do people in other parts of the world realize that not all American's are war happy, oil hording, monsters?

"scaldwell1982
Date: December 26, 2005 @ 12:58 PM
Hey Critto, I am an American and I compare Bush to Hitler all the time. I just hope Europeans and the rest of the world know that by no stretch of the imagination does Bush represent the values and idealologies of all Americans. I don't think there has been one thing in the last five years Bush has said that I agree with and I cannot wait for him to take leave of the White House. Do people in other parts of the world realize that not all American's are war happy, oil hording, monsters?"

hi scaldwell1982,
I don't share the anti-American sentiment of many Europeans (which is really, alas; eh, there are lots of folks out there who consider Americans as half-brain hamburger-mongers who "just love the f**king killing". For me, such stereotypes aren't any better than similiar ones told about Jews in the nazi Germany.
In fact, I'm one of the most pro-American folks in Poland. I only hate the corporate scoundrels that want to turn your beatiful and interesting country into an authoritarian/totalitarian nightmare of corporate cartels and political clientism (clientism means, that the politicians are sellouts to the big money lobby, who are their clients). Also, I don't want that those scoundrels and rascals imposed the form of tyranny they enslave America with onto Europe and other parts of the world. Hence my harsh criticism: not of America (may She live long and prosper), but for those sh*theads.

In Liberty and Intercontintal Friendship
Critto

Bush to Hitler?? You people have no idea what real dictatorship is.

i think the riaa has already influenced the ifpi to take stop music sharings globally. sometime ago, even the Russian Organization for Multimedia & digital Systems (roms.ru) amended their federal law on copyrights that would give authors/producers/artists to have exclusive right to authorize their works to be made to the public.

It doesn't matter what copyright laws are passed if they contradict reality. Modern technology has made it possible to share content easily. Music fans rip their CDs and put them on their iPods. They make copies for their friends. They share music files on P2P, newsgroups, email, IRC, VPNs. This is the reality. DRM is a joke. It is easily circumvented. The music industry should abandon DRM and legalize file sharing and they would see their revenues go up. Instead, they sue customers, raise prices, and compromise consumers computers with rootkit software. The music industry's sales model is ruined. The Sony rootkit debacle was the tipping point for public awareness. The music industry has lost the public's confidence. The music industry is in a death spiral and no amount of legislation, or efforts to impeded technological innovation, will save them.

I like the Chinese way of getting illigal downloaders to quit... !

the discussion about the law in france is not finished , it starts again in january ...

People who say that bush is another hitler simply do not see the entire picture.

That doesn't mean his regeime doesn't have Fascist Leanings

Oops, that post was supposed to have a link.

Search google for "fascism 14 points"

by that definition so does every other world leader.

New CDs that can only be played on the first CD player that you have put in, and you arn't allowed to put it on your iPod or play on your computer? Thank goodness that France has mainly listened that copyright restrictions goes too far.

As always, let people do what they want to do to the music, movies, or video games they purchased. At least Sony is allowing us to copy the contents of the Blu-ray disc to computer.

If America had to deal with a dictator within living memory - not including shadowy forign people - then they wouldn't make the comparison. But they also wouldn't stand for a leader who blatently disregarded rights and publicly said he considers himself above the law.

agreed Goldenpi, very true. I just didn't think the comparison was even close to accurate.

Abe Lincoln, Woodrow Willson, FDR, All supressed civil rights far greater, even to the point of ignoring supreme court decisions. We shouldn't let it happen with this or any other president but please lets put it into perspective.

" The most notable characteristic of a fascist country is the separation and persecution or denial of equality to a specific segment of the population based upon superficial qualities or belief systems. "

Every country does that? The world HAS gone to hell in a hand basket!

No, I dont think there is any one most notable charactactisic. But there are many fascist-ish tendencies.

- Government control of the media, either directly or by threats, to prevent criticism.

- Government not answerable to the people. May include a sham election, but the outcome is predetermined.

- Very low tolerance for criticism or disobediance.

- Lack of respect for anything often considered a right of individuals.

- Corrupt, extremally wealthy rulers.

- Low tolerance for non-government-approved beliefs - economic, political or religious.

- Manipulation of the people by propaganda, possibly by creating a phantom threat.

- Rulers, and their friends and family, are above the law.

So... Nazi Germany had all eight of these. China has all eight. Bush has only three (Very rich president, manipulates the public with a phantom threat, lack of respect for human rights), and a little bit of the others (He doesn't jail his critics - he just ignores them. He claims the law doesn't apply to him, but isn't confident enough to defy it openly.). Which makes him a mini-dictator - a little bit fascist, but not nearly enough of one to join the ranks of Hitler and Stalin.

Yeah, but Cheney's got all eight and three more that aren't even on your list.

All I can say is thank God for term limits and our Constitution (what's left of it) or we most certainly WOULD be in danger of having to say "Heil Bush" one day. (His administration DOES have facist dictatorial leanings IMHO.)