France may sanction unfettered P2P downloads

France could become the first country to pass a law broadly permitting free downloads of copyright content from the Internet for private use.

In a move that could thwart the entertainment industry's attempts to seek legal sanctions for copyright violations, French Parliament members voted 30 to 28 late Wednesday night to accept an amendment proposing such a move.

Attached to a broader copyright law proposal, the amendment--roughly translated--reads: "Authors cannot forbid the reproductions of works that are made on any format from an online communication service when they are intended to be used privately and when they do not imply commercial means directly or indirectly."

In short, that language could "open the way to the legalization of peer-to-peer" downloading of copyright music and movies in the nation of about 8 million Net users, Jean-Baptiste Soufron, a legal counsel with the Association of Audionauts, said in a telephone interview with CNET News.com. The French advocacy organization has represented approximately 100 clients accused of sharing files illegally.

Under French copyright law, there's a concept called "private copy," which permits people to make copies of content for themselves or their friends, Soufron said. But lately, he added, "they're having a huge debate to know if 'private copy' includes downloaded content on the Internet or not."

A French court ruled in favor of the organization recently, holding that downloaded content for personal use does meet the "private copy" definition, Soufron said. But this amendment would give firmer legal backing in a nation that relies more heavily on codified law than court precedents, he said.

The Association of Audionauts isn't suggesting that copyright holders go without compensation, Soufron said. It supports pairing the amendment's text with a royalty tax collected from Internet service providers. Those companies would likely raise the money by levying a monthly fee--say, 2 to 5 euros--on customers who engage in a certain amount of downloading and uploading.

The IFPI, a trade association that speaks for the music industry worldwide, said it was "greatly concerned" by the amendment's initial approval.

"Instead of promoting the growth of legitimate music services on the Internet, some of the measures would be extremely detrimental to legal services and to the future of the French cultural industries," the organization said in a statement provided to CNET News.com.

But IFPI European spokeswoman Francine Cunningham said the proposal doesn't appear to permit unfettered uploading of copyright content. "This distinction is important because the recording industry's ongoing litigation is against major uploaders who are breaking copyright law by making music available to others via the Internet without permission from those who created the music," she said.

Last year, a Canadian judge came to a similar conclusion, ruling it legal to download--but not to upload--copyright content from peer-to-peer services.

The ultimate success of the proposal is far from certain.

French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, along with much of the government, supports beefing up the nation's copyright laws significantly, instituting criminal penalties and steep fines for pirates. The official reopened debate on the issue on Thursday, with a second vote expected later in the day.

Even if it survives the Parliament's lower court, it would also have to win approval from its high court, which likely won't consider the measure until late January.

Across the Atlantic, the Motion Picture Association of America on Thursday called the amendment "an unfortunate development." "Most alarming is the apparent disregard for the potential impact on the French cinema industry, which will be hardest hit if this vote is upheld," said Gayle Osterberg, an MPAA vice president. "We are hopeful as this bill works its way through the legislative process, those with an eye toward fostering French cinema will prevail."

[bobby_brady]

Nice Christmas present from France

Let's hope the higher Parlaiment accepts it.

[markdoiron]

I Just Have to Wonder ...

i just have to wonder if this isn't the French tweaking their noses at the American "culture" they so vociferously complain about. if it is, i think it's brilliant!

mark d.

[joers]

France may sanction unfettered P2P downloads

I love the French and their unfettered approach to stupidous copy-right laws. DRM benefits the big guys and their greed only, mostly leaving the interest of the consumers AND the artists by the way-side.

Vive La France!

Obviously forward thinking is not totally out of style in France ....

Intellectual copyright is a creation of the human disposition to greed and the acquisitiveness of capitalist monopolies .... Since "There is no new thing under the sun" and since all is built on the aggregate accumulation form others why should any entity claim "divine" copyright --- It is only a human extension of the absurdness of a species trying to avoid sharing the toys ....

[Protoform-X]

Good point, but...

I'm all for public access to art and music and I do believe that the current music industry is flawed, however I believe that it should not be done away with. The problem is that there is inadequate funding to support musicians in what they do, and so the industry exists (or SHOULD exist) for the purpose of enabling musicians to continue their work without financial pressure.

I am fully aware that the current industry really doesn't even pay the musicians that well, and that is what needs to be changed, but if there were no compensation for musicians (or any other type of srtist), then think of how many fewer musicians would exist.

Again, I am all for free access to music, but there does need to be a support system for the artists.

[unknown unknown]

I hope it gets accepted...

just out of pure spite for the record and movie companies. They need a few good kicks in the head after all the anti-consumer BS they've been involved in.

[ejevo]

Not a big deal

They know exactly who is going to take it on the chin with this move - American entertainment industry players. It's their way of sticking it to the US.

[TogetherinParis]

French Utopia: oxymoron

Attack musicians in this demeaning way and all the brightest
stars will shine beneath a sea of muddy mediocrity. Since when
have the goofball French done anything right? This French law
debases public and private morals by facilitating millions of
petty thefts! How? It needlessly socializes a good market.
Excuse me, it is a good market for NON-French bands. The
Gaelic ghastlies produce inferior music these days, so to
discourage any competition which might actually promote some
really good French music (I know, it is an odd notion) out of
their burning ghettos, they stick musicians on the public dole,
with foreseeable consequences: more ghastly gallic gaul and
the French again do not pull their own weight. And this is held
up as an example? Does anyone in their right mind want some
silly French minister of music education choosing their music for
them?

[tetsuyo]

I dont think so

Obviously, you have your head stuck in the sand when it comes to good music cause the music coming out of France these days is some of the best in the world. If you like electronica, lounge, down tempo. The French are doing it the best. It is well known(just check out the comments on the music industry here) that American music creativity is in a slump and I wonder why?

[genium]

Free P2P In France

P2P in France: Sarkozy want to stop the revolution?

?uvre censurée sous pression de la SACEM:

http://www.citoyenlambda.net/so/pol/POL_tizenfants.mp3

http://www.eucd.info

Enjeux: http://www.framasoft.net/article1953.html - http://www.framasoft.net/article397.html

wait and see the next mounth but i think P2P will be legalized :)