[Ecommerce] EDRI: A CD should work on any device, says French court

[Manon Ress]

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biweekly newsletter about digital civil rights in Europe     Number
4.2, 2 February 2006
============================================================
Contents
============================================================
1. Commission refuses to do an impact assessment on the data retention
directive
2. OECD Conference on the Future Digital Economy
3. German Wikipedia back on the Internet
4. A CD should work on any device, says French court
5. Debates on draft directive on Television without Frontiers Directive
6. EU Visa Database under scrutiny of the European Data Protection
Supervisor
7. French anti-terrorism law not anti-constitutional
8. Combating Racism on Internet
9. Irish ISPs to give File-sharers details
10. Slovenian Intelligence Agency performed illegal eavesdropping
11. Big Brother Award for Dutch immigration minister
12. UK Passenger Travel Data in Advance
13. Recommended reading: Security Policies in Europe
14. Agenda
15. About

SNIP

4. A CD should work on any device, says French court
============================================================

Two French companies, Warner Music France and the FNAC, were
condemned on 10
January by the Paris District Court to pay fines and damages of 5.000
and
59,50 euros respectively, to the consumer protection association UFC
- Que
Choisir and to a consumer complaining for not having been able to read a
Phil Collins CD on a Macintosh computer. The CD had a copy proof
system that
prevented the duplication but which also made it impossible to read
the CD
on certain devices.

The Paris court estimated that the respective CD "was affected by a
hidden
flaw which made it useless for the purpose it had been created", that
is "to
be read on all types of readers". The court considered the two
companies had
failed in meeting their obligation to provide information. As a result,
Warner Music is forbidden to use a copy-proof system; failing to
comply will
cost the company 150 euros per day.

UFC-Que Choisir has expressed its satisfaction in a press release
that the
court had again given priority to private copy exception over the
copy-prevention system - two previous similar cases occurred in 2005
judged
by Versailles and Paris courts.

According to the consumer protection association "a principle is
established
by now: the technical protection measures must not be an obstacle to
creating a private copy on any means".

FNAC declared that they would appeal the decision.

Warner Music and the FNAC condemned for a too protected CD (French only,
19.01 2006)
http://www.01net.com/editorial/302073/droit/warner-music-et-la-fnac-
condamnees-pour-cd-trop-protege/

Private copy : no exception for computers ( French only, 19.01.2006)
http://www.quechoisir.org/
Position.jsp;jsessionid=7AC3535FA8E4BE255B282F03833F09C6.tomcat21?
id=Ressources:Positions:19A346F250535DFAC12570FB0038D6A2&catcss=IMA101

EDRI-gram : French court forbids DVD copy protection ( 4.05.2005)
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.9/DVD



************************************************
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Ext 16 Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Consumer Project on Technology
1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727

Consumer Project on Technology
24 Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX, UK
Tel: +44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252 Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607