[A2k] New York Times: French Digital Music Copyright Bill Advances

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

May 12, 2006


  French Digital Music Copyright Bill Advances

By THOMAS CRAMPTON
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PARIS, May 11 =97 Resisting pressure from business, French lawmakers have
moved the country a step closer to a copyright law that would have
wide-ranging effects on those selling or listening to digital music.

The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday after amending it to address
concerns from companies like Apple
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that had called it "state-sponsored piracy."

The Senate version of what is being called the iPod
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bill softens some measures that could have forced Apple to open all
music sold from its iTunes Music Store to play on portable devices other
than the Apple iPod.

The change is the crucial difference from the version passed in March by
the National Assembly.

The National Assembly's version permitted consumers to ask a court to
force companies like Apple to let songs bought from iTunes play on other
portable devices. The Senate version would accept such appeals only from
companies.

The bill would guarantee that tunes could play on multiple devices in a
way that preserves some copy protection and respects rights established
when the work was purchased. The real-world application of all this to
companies like Apple and Sony
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will come out of committee actions.

The latest vote comes amid global debate over patents and copyrights in
a world where instant Internet distribution of perfect digital copies is
being blamed for disrupting conventional media business models. "France
has adopted an entirely new and unique approach to managing digital
music and films that could be a model for other countries to follow,"
said Jonathan Arber, an analyst in London at Ovum, a consulting firm.
"Everyone will be watching the impact six months down the line to see
whether consumers or companies have benefited."

Government officials said differences between the versions of the bill
would be worked out in the next few weeks, with the law taking force
within several months.

Both versions reduce penalties for piracy to the equivalent of a traffic
offense; require software makers to give the government details of the
inner workings of their programs; and create an agency to rule on
important digital copyright issues.

That agency will decide how many times a consumer can copy digital music
files for personal use and, in the Senate version, will ensure that
music bought from one online service can be played on any device.

"We have nothing to add at this point," Alan Hely, a spokesman for Apple
in Europe, said in an e-mail message, "as the discussions and voting
continues" until May 30.

Vivendi Universal
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and Time Warner
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joined Apple in lobbying against the bill. The government championed the
law as a way of encouraging innovation in Internet distribution models
and the diversity of offerings.

The law will set France apart from many Western countries, especially
the United States, in its positions on copyright law, digital copying
and piracy, several critics said.

"This law risks removing all deterrence against piracy," said Olivia
Regnier, who represents record labels as the European regional counsel
for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. "If you
can download 1,000 films and songs and only face a 38-euro fine, that's
not much of a penalty."

Software industry lobbyists went further in their criticism.

"This is clearly the worst software law in Europe," said Francisco
Mingorance, director of public policy in Europe for the Business
Software Alliance, which represents companies like Microsoft
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and Nokia
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Mr. Mingorance said software companies were worried about the potential
of the law to force them to license their proprietary technology and to
give the French government the underlying computer code for their copy
protection technology.

The agency that would oversee digital copyright issues would take over
many decisions now made by companies like Apple or Microsoft.