The United States is behind the wall of secrecy surrounding global trade talks to combat counterfeiting, say EU policy sources, who claim that American officials are refusing to let their European counterparts publish the draft agreement online.
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BlackBerry's Canadian manufacturer should give law enforcement agencies around the world access to its customer data, the U.N. telecommunications chief said, adding that governments have legitimate security concerns that should not be ignored.
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The problem is most acute with copyright. Producers of copyrighted works – film studios, record labels, commercial publishing companies – are few in number and stand to gain significantly from more powerful protections (and therefore have ample incentive to spend money seeking policy change). The result is that Congress hears, loudly and often, from those who favor stronger protection. Congress does not hear nearly as often from those who take the opposite view.
More from The New York Times Freakonomics Blog
According to David Hammerstein's notes of a closed-door debriefing in the European Parliament the final agreement to be signed in Tokyo late this month will be 'ACTA light'.
What is clear is that the EU representative wants to show that he is being responsive to the concerns being expressed about ACTA and that the new “unidentified, undisclosed and flying” ACTA will be lighter, more vague and a happy medium for all. Though he gave us a large serving of political marketing and double speak, it is evident that the anti-ACTA campaign is having a deep impact on the parties involved.
Eric Devigne, the EU's ACTA negotiator, also said that internet enforcement measures will be voluntary. He insisted that no enforcement measure in ACTA should threaten “privacy, freedom of expression or fundamental rights”.
Like all location products, the new application publishes potentially sensitive information, since a stream of information on location can provide a detailed picture of your life. Some locations might appear cool at one moment, and yet become something you'd rather forget the next.
Find out how from Kurt Opsahl at EFF
With the tenth round of ACTA negotiations now complete, there is no leaked document (yet), but there are rumours that the U.S. has now caved on secondary liability.
More from Michael Geist
AP reports that a German court refused to grant an injunction against You Tube brought by GEMA and other collecting societies demanding the removal of 75 music videos. Landgericht Hamburg said, however, that GEMA may have a right to ask for the removal and only rejected the urgency in the matter.
More details (in German).
You may have noticed that as the field of "intellectual property law" has been getting more and more attention, those who benefit the most from it have done an effective, if misleading, job of convincing people that copyright, patents and trademark are "just like property."
Full item on TechDirt.com
More copyright & IP related items from Mike Masnick
Digital Rights Management, or DRM, has been touted as a piracy preventer by entertainment and gaming manufacturers. But it's been blasted by end users as restrictive and ineffective against illegal downloading and copying of electronic media.
One gaming company says its heard the cries of its players and plans to release its latest title Tuesday without the dreaded DRM.
Stardock, makers of the "Galactic Civilizations" series, say they aren't inviting pirates to copy their game, but that they think they've found a way to keep their customers happy and still put a dent in the counterfeit gaming process.
From CNN Tech
