For policy & rights online
The strange case of the right to IP which will cease in the UK post-Brexit.
The Great Repeal Bill - now known by its new title of the European Union (EU) Withdrawal Bill – will take away a right to intellectual property (IP) granted under EU law. Here's why:
The irony of Britain leaving the European Union is that that other side is driving.
The British have been forced to accept that trade negotiations will not run in parallel with the 'divorce' talks, that the negotiators wll meet 4-weekly, that the default setting is 'transparency'. How is the EU is able to impose terms, when this should be a joint negotiation? It is a manifestation of power play in an imbalanced relationship. This article investigates the power relations of Brexit and suggests that the EU is able to wield 'structural power' in order to shape choices for the British.
In seeking a response to terrorism, how can we protect our democratic values online as well as offline? Theresa May says there should be no safe spaces for online extremism, but attacking online platforms, and laying the blame entirely at their feet, is at best unhelpful and fundamentally problematic. How should we, as a society, ensure safeguards against the unintended consequences of such measures?
I very much enjoyed chairing an election hustings for the independent candidates and minor parties in Maidenhead at the 2017 General Election. Four of the 13 candiates turned up: Julian Reid, The Just Party / Independent; Grant Smith, Independent; Andrew Knight, Animal Welfare Party; Lord Buckethead, Independent.
Copyright enforcement remains an ongoing policy issue, with the current processing of the new Copyright Directive in the European Parliament.
This article is the text of my speech at the Council of Europe "Freedom of Expression Online" conference in Nicosia, Cyprus on 28 April 2017. The speech is entitled Balancing freedom of expression online: insights from copyright cases. I address Member State and ECJ caselaw, taking copyright enforcement cases, mainly from the UK, as examples. The cases concern the blocking or filtering of content, and balancing the conflicting rights of copyright versus freedom of expression.
The notification of Britain's intention to withdraw from the European Union is the start of a process that takes policy-makers into new and unknown territory. For the British government and the legislature, it will be a tricky if not perilous path with an unpredictable outcome. Theresa May says she wants a 'global Britain'. Many others fear that fear that Britain is heading over a cliff.
This article analyses three key timings for that process.
The Closing of the Net (Polity Press 2016)
"takes the pulse of the open web" Journal of IP Law & Practice
What is meant by The Closing of the Net? The notion reflects calls by various political interests for the Internet platforms like Facebook or Twitter to 'do something' about content that
I was delighted to be invited back to Ukraine to present for a second year in a row as a Council of Europe expert at the Internet Governance Forum on 14 October 2016 (programme only in Ukrainian - my name appears as Моніка Хортен ).
The title of my presentation was Human rights and security on-line: European standards and practices for ensuring a balance. My speech discussed the balance between security and the rights and freedoms of individuals. This is a dilemma that goes way back into history. It is in the nature of security, that those who have the power to protect, also have the ability to threaten. This is why, in democratic societies, we also insist on safeguards against abuses of power.
I presented my paper "Content responsibility: The looming cloud of Uncertainty for Internet Intermediaries" at CDT's Brussel's event: "Intermediary Liability & Content Responsibility: A Cloud of Uncertainty for Internet Intermediaries" on 6 September 2016.
Other panelists were MEP Julia Reda, MEP Julia Reda, Joe McNamee of European Digital Rights (EDRI), and Alex de Joode of Nederland ICT.
Download the paper here.
The paper was commissioned by CDT.
In what can only be called a policy bombshell, proposed new EU copyright rules will force social media sites to police content. A leaked version of a proposed new copyright directive seeks to impose draconian monitoring obligations any sites that support content uploaded by users. If the leaked draft to be believed, content platforms will have to install content scanning systems to monitor and remove copyrighted material. In addition, they will have to report back to rightsholders.
Iptegrity deeply regrets the British decision to leave the European Union. I feel that - far from being Indpendence Day or a liberating moment- this decision is a bad sign for democracy in Britain.
The referendum campaign was dominated by propagandist, manipulative and bullying commentary from powerful media owners, who sought to silence their critics, and they succeeded in muffling the voices of those who believed Britain would have been better to stay in Europe. We do not know how
A new political battle over the Internet has just commenced in Brussels. The battle field is a set of proposals from the European Commission about content platforms – for which, you should understand to be Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, eBay etc. These companies are at the centre of a conflict that is raging politically about what role they should play, if any, in regulating content. And if they do have a role, how should they carry it out?
The Communication on Online Platforms and the Digital Single Market – opportunities and challenges for Europe sets out
The European Union has warned the United States not to make last-minute demands for measures on intellectual property rights, as the two attempt to conclude the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Parnership (TTIP ). In particular, the EU has stressed that some US demands would 'have a limited chance of being accepted'.
The position on IPR in TTIP has come to light in the documents leaked to Greenpeace, and revealed to the German media on Tuesday this week.
Within the documents made public by Greenpeace was
IP News & views
- TTIP leaks: telecoms proposals threaten net neutrality & citizens rights
- EU 'historic' data protection rules highlight privacy paradox
- EU wants to know how ISPs can block music files - in 500 words
- Investigatory Powers Bill - is it leading the world over a cliff?
- Out for a duct: what chance for fibre to the home?
- Ofcom review: Static on the line brings uncertainty for broadband industry
- UK telecoms review – is Openreach too hot to touch?
- EU drops the net neutrality principle – will it mean content restrictions?
- EU net neutrality – how political is this decision?
- Net neutrality or zero rating? Tomorrow's EU vote will decide
- Netzpolitik.org: treason inquiry over German blog and leaked spy plans
- EU officials after-midnight deal to fix net neutrality - but have they really done it?
- Will TISA endeavours wipe net neutrality?
- Online Safety Bill 2015– a back-door to Internet filtering?
- EU announces radical copyright overhaul for cross-border content
Published work
- Content responsibility: The looming cloud of uncertainty for Internet intermediaries
- Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Standards and Private Online Censorship
- The Policy Challenge Of Content Restrictions: How Private Actors Engage The Duties Of States
- Internet Policy Review - The Aereo dilemma and copyright in the cloud
- JIPITEC - The Digital Economy Act in the dock
The Copyright Enforcement Enigma 'accurate and absorbing account of the story of the Telecoms Package' -Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology
'...a must read for those interested in knowing in depth about copyright enforcement and Internet.' -Journal of Intellectual Property Rights.
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Iptegrity.com is the website of Dr Monica Horten. She is a trainer & consultant on Internet governance policy, published author& Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics & Political Science. She served as an independent expert on the Council of Europe Committee on Internet freedom. She has worked on CoE, EU and UNDP funded projects in eastern Europe and beyond. She was shortlisted for The Guardian Open Internet Poll 2012. Iptegrity offers expert insights into Internet policy (and now Brexit). Iptegrity has a core readership in the Brussels policy community, and has been cited in the media. Please acknowledge Iptegrity when you cite or link. For more, see IP politics with integrity
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Iptegrity in the media
The politics of copyright
A Copyright Masquerade - How corporate lobbying threatens online freedoms
'timely and provocative' Entertainment Law Review
