Papers and Articles on Internet Policy

ACTA, SOPA & the EU - essential background

The Copyright Enforcement Enigma jacket

SOPA and PIPA have put Internet copyright into the mainstream news agenda. The Copyright Enforcement Enigma introduces you to this topic. It explains the history of copyright sanctions. It puts 3-strikes and blocking policies into context. And it unravels the strange story of how it all got mixed up in the Telecoms Package and Amendment 138. When you finish it, you will understand why the ISPs and fundamental rights are under attack! Click here to get it!

European Union IP Policy

The European Union has many policy intiatives related to the Internet, ecommerce and online content or copyright. In fact, there are so many, it is frequently difficult to keep up with them. In this section, I report on Internet-related matters within the EU institutions - European Commisission, Council and Parliament - and the activites of the key policy-makers.

Specific policies which are under consideration, such as the IPR enforcement directive and IP or copyright enforcement initiatives, are reported in a dedicated section. Similarly, the section on Internet Threats looks at any other EU policy initiatives which imply Internet blocking for any other purpose.

EU ‘No-disconnect’ policy: freedom or fiasco?

Monica Horten

Published on 12 December 2011

The Commmissioner for Information Society, Neelie Kroes, has today announced that the European Union will spend money on developing software tools to help political activists in countries such as Syria, to circumvent surveillance technology. At the same time, the Commission is working on ‘self-regulation’ of the European Internet, where ISPs will be asked to prevent the very same circumventions for the benefit of, among others, the copyright industries. Upholder of democracy or bureaucratic hypocrisy? It could be both, but it is odd that the Commission's choice of adviser is Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. He is the rich German aristocrat, and former CSU politician, who was found to have plagiarised chunks of his PhD thesis.

EU Council deadlock on music copyright released

Monica Horten

Published on 12 September 2011

Copyright term extension directive sneaked through the Council - 70 years is now law

An 18-month deadlock over music copyright in the EU has been released today. The issue concerns the term of copyright for music and specifically for sound recordings. A directive to extend the term from the current maximum of 50 years has been languishing in the bowels of Justus Lipsius building, as the large Member States with big copyright interests

New EU Music Copyright Rules for 2011

Monica Horten

Published on 27 October 2010

The European Commission is proposing to bring in new rules next year for copyright on the Internet.

This new copyright proposal forms part of the European Commission's general overhaul - officially a relaunch - of the Single European Market. The announcement was made at a press conference in Brussels today, and encompasses 50 proposals to be put in place by 2012.

The Commission's big new idea is to acknowledge that citizens, as well as business, have a stake in the Single Market. The relaunch was therefore held jointly by Michel Barnier, Commissioner for the Internal Market, and Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Fundamental Rights.

The single market rules are intended to facilitate the free movement of goods and services. One obvious problem in the EU is the matter of copyright, which remains constrained by national boundaries. Copyright law therefore works