Papers and Articles on Internet Policy

ACTA, SOPA & the EU - get the context

The Copyright Enforcement Enigma jacket

ACTA and SOPA 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!

IPR Enforcement

The European Union's IPR Enforcement directive is being reviewed in 2011. The review takes up where the Telecoms Package left off, and is known to be looking into ways of making ISPs liable for copyrighted content, and possibly some form of EU-wide 3-strikes agreement. It is driven by the French Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier.

Thus, IPR - and copyright - enforcement remains at the head of the political agenda.

This section will monitor the review and other aspects of EU policy which relate to IPR and copyright enforcement. It will also log industry moves which stand to influence the policy agendaand seek to understand in what ways European IPR enforcement policy could change or evolve.

EU Commission re-sets clock for IP enforcement review

Monica Horten

Published on 30 April 2012

It emerged last week that the European Comission is changing the timings for the IPR Enforcement directive (IPRED) review. At a conference organised by DG Markt, the Commission said that the consultation on the directive will be extended. The move is significant, because DG Markt was scheduled to unveil the revised directive in September, with the intention of getting it adopted next year. That timetable appears to have been torn up.

Single market 2.0 = blocked payments

Monica Horten

Published on 06 February 2012

This is not the message that the European Commission would like to give, but it is what comes across. Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier, speaking in Copenhagen last Thursday, gave his priorities for the European internal market for 2012. He called it the “Single Market 2.0”. In summary, he wants reliable online payment systems that can equally be trusted to black payments on request, in respect of mis-behaving music and film download sites.

EU gives notice of 'Net blocking schemes

Monica Horten

Published on 11 January 2012

The European Commission could ask ISPs to block content, and ask payment providers to withold money on demand from rights-holders, following a policy announcment released today. The much-awaited announcement sets out EU official policy on the Internet and e-commerce. It follows a review of the E-commerce directive by the Commission.