”Alvik kan bli navet för global musik”

Ett antal stora skivbolag och insamlinssällskap och  planerar att bygga en global databas över vem som äger rättigheterna till all världens musik. Huvudkontoret för projektet ligger i Stockholmsförorten Alvik, rapporterar IDG.

Det här är en intressant upplysning, eftersom EU-parlmentet håller på och behandlar ett lagstiftningsförslag om orphan works, alltså verk där rättighetsinnehavaren är okänd eller inte går att få tag på. I det sammanhanget är det väldigt intressant vilka register över verk som finns eller kan komma att finnas.

Pristak för dataroaming alldeles för högt

Läs mer på SvD Brännpunkt

Priserna för dataroaming – det vill säga att man använder sin smartphone eller dator utomlands – är hutlösa i EU idag. Det är ett hinder för den inre marknaden, och något som hämmar den ekonomiska tillväxten i Europa, skriver jag på SvD Brännpunkt idag:

I utskottsbehandlingen i Europaparlamentet kommer jag att föreslå ett pristak i konsumentledet på 20 euro per gigabyte från den 1 juli 2012. Med moms skulle det bli strax över 200 kronor, till nytta för bland andra våra resande affärsmän och turister.

Då blir dataroaming något naturligt, som man vågar använda utan att behöva tänka på priset hela tiden. Detta skulle vara ett lyft för den del av IT-branschen som utvecklar mobila applikationer. Och det skulle öppna en ny marknad, för applikationer som är anpassade för människor som är på resande fot. Idag stryps dessa marknader, på grund av att de flesta stänger av sin mobila internetuppkoppling så fort de lämnar sitt hemland.

Läs mer på SvD Brännpunkt

Dagens Industri har intervjuat mig om frågan:

Att surfa på mobilen i utlandet kan bli en väldigt dyr historia, men inom EU arbetar man nu med reglera marknaden så att operatörerna inte får ta ut hur mycket pengar som helst för så kallad data-roaming. EU-kommissionen har tagit fram ett förslag på pristak som är tänkt att träda i kraft nästa sommar, men innan dess hoppas EU-parlamentarikern Christian Engström, som representerar Piratpartiet, att kunna sänka taket betydligt. Och han är full av tillförsikt.

”I just den här frågan råkar det vara så att samtliga ledamöter i EU-parlamentet har exakt det här problemet själva varje vecka eftersom vi åker till Bryssel och Strasbourg och bor i våra hemländer. När det gäller alla andra frågor brukar lobbyisterna kunna slå blå dunster i ögonen på oss, men just här vet vi på riktigt hur det ser ut allihop”, säger Christian Engström.

Läs mer hos Dagens Industri

…………

Andra om ämnet: Anna Troberg (PP)

Tidigare inlägg: Proposing a 10 Euro Per GB Cap On Data Roaming

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Alert To Activists: Customs Enforcement of IPR

The EU Commission wants to give customs increased powers to confiscate goods to protect the economic interests of IP rights holders

A very worrying proposal called ”Customs enforcement of intellectual property rights” has arrived from the EU Commission, and will be handled by the European Parliament this autumn. It is an attempt to introduce by the Commission to expand enforcement of intellectual property rights in line with the ACTA agreement, before ACTA has even been signed. Some of the provisions even go beyond ACTA in scope.

The Commission has a page with information about the proposal and links to various documents. The European Parliament also has an information page.

There are many individual parts of the proposal that cause concern, and taken together they represent a long wish list from the intellectual property lobby. The basic idea is to give customs in the member states the right to confiscate goods on more grounds, including types of goods that are not illegal to import under substantive intellectual property laws.

Here are some of the issues:

• Small consignments. It currently is illegal to import counterfeit goods for commercial purposes, and the customs have the right to stop such shipments. This is as it should be. It is not illegal for consumers to import counterfeit goods for their own use, however. Despite this, the proposed regulation wants to give customs the right to confiscate goods sent in small consignments. A consumer who buys something on the internet that it is perfectly legal to import, may get his goods confiscated anyway, according to this proposal. The proposal also allows for checks of travellers, giving customs the right to confiscate goods even if it falls within the limits set out for granting customs duty free allowances, and thus falls outside the scope of the law.
• Patents. In Article 2.1.e in the regulation, the Commission wants to include patents in the regulation. This even goes beyond ACTA, where the US has not wanted patents as part of the border measures. From a practical point of view, I cannot see how customs officials on the ground could determine on their own if there is a patent infringement, considering that patent law is so complex and specialized that even ordinary courts don’t touch it, but delegate it to special patent courts and patent lawyers.
• Parallel imports. In point 5 in the Explanatory Memorandum the Commission talks about ”infringements from parallel trade”. Parallel imports are currently legal, and it is an important cornerstone of the internal market that they should be, even if some rights holders would prefer to ban it. In first reading of the IPRED2 directive, the European Parliament made very clear that parallel imports should continue to be legal. This regulation suggests the opposite.
• DRM. In the same point 5, they also talk about ”devices to circumvent technological measures”, i.e.: devices to circumvent DRM. I don’t know the exact legal status of these under current law, but this is obviously a matter of concern. In many cases DRM restrictions prevent legal uses of protected content, and tools for circumventing DRM often have legitimate uses as well. I don’t know how the inclusion of this provision in the regulation will affect the right for print disabled persons to get reading material on accessible formats, but it certainly will not help people with disabilities.
• Access to medicines. The regulation touches upon access to medicines, which is a very sensitive issue, but where I know to little about the subtle details of the issue to find the traps and pitfalls in this particular regulation. I assume there are problems with the regulation in this regard, however, considering the general IP-maximalist perspective of the Commission’s proposal.

All in all, the proposal for Customs enforcement of intellectual property rights looks like it contains a whole array of nasty details, and I have no reason to think that the above list is exhaustive. There are almost certainly other poison pills hidden in it as well.

I am shadow rapporteur for the Green group for the report in the European Parliaments committee for the internal market IMCO, and I will need help from the swarm in finding all the detail problems in it. Erik Josefsson, who is advisor to the Green group and has been working a lot on the closely related ACTA agreement, has promised to help coordinate input from NGOs and activists.

Although this proposal is formally unrelated to ACTA, the subject matter overlaps to a large extent, and it is the same IP expansion agenda that is the driving force behind both this proposal and ACTA.

The preliminary time table for the report in the European Parliament looks like this:

• November 22nd: Hearing in IMCO
• Beginning December : Draft report sent to translation
• January 2012: Consideration of draft report in IMCO
• January 20th: Deadline for amendments
• February: Vote in IMCO
• March: Vote in Plenary

…………

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Proposing a 10 Euro Per GB Cap On Data Roaming

A price cap of 10 euro per GB on data roaming is sustainable and will help boost the European economy and the single market

The EU Commission has put forward a proposal for continued price regulation of roaming charges (i.e.: when you use your phone or computer abroad) for mobile phone calls, text messages, and data traffic.

The European Parliament will decide on the proposal this autumn, and it is going through the relevant committees right now. On the Commission’s PreLex page you can find the relevant documents, including the proposal itself.

I agree with the Commission that we need to continue to regulate prices for roaming, and I will support it when it comes up in the EU Parliament. I think the suggested price caps for voice and text messaging are quite reasonable.

But when it comes to data roaming, I think we need to put the price caps considerably lower than what the Commission proposes, if it is to have any positive effect.

The Commission proposes price caps for data roaming for both wholesale (what telecom operators may charge each other), and for retail (what they may charge the consumers).

In Article 11 and 12 of the proposed regulation, the Commission proposes wholesale caps of 30, 20 and 10  eurocent per megabyte from 1 July 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively, and retail caps (excluding VAT) of 90, 70, and 50 eurocent, at the same dates.

When the caps are expressed in megabytes like this, they perhaps look reasonable at first glance. But in actual fact, they are way too high.

”To produce 1 GB of mobile data transfer costs about 1 dollar, and a client with a smartphone uses about half a GB per month,” says the head of R&D at Ericsson, Håkan Eriksson, in an article published last year in Swedish technology journal Ny Teknik (translated).

Note that he is talking about gigabytes, i.e. 1000 megabyte.

This is the relevant unit to use when discussing the data roaming prices, and this is the first amendment I would like to make to the Commission’s proposal. From now on, I think that all prices should be expressed per gigabyte, both in the regulation itself and in the warning messages to consumers that are stipulated by the regulation. This makes it much easier for everybody, including consumers, to see what kind of money we are really talking about.

Reformulated in gigabytes, the Commission is thus proposing wholesale caps of

• 300 euro per gigabyte from 1 July 2012,
• 200 euro from 1 July 2013, and
• 100 euro from 1 July 2014,

and retail caps (excluding VAT) of

• 900 euro per gigabyte from 1 July 2012,
• 700 euro from 1 July 2013, and
• 500 euro from 1 July 2014.

Considering that the production cost for the telecom operators is less than 1 euro per gigabyte, as evidenced by Ericsson’s R&D chief, these caps make little sense.

Not only are they unreasonably high in general, considering the underlying production costs. More importantly, they are meaningless when it comes to opening up the internal market for data roaming. Even three years from now, when the lowest retail cap is planned to go into force, an average user consuming half a GB would still have to pay 250 euro per month to use his smartphone abroad. This far to high to get people to start using their smartphones abroad without thinking about the cost all the time.

I will instead propose in the relevant committee that we should introduce a wholesale cap of

• 10 euro per gigabyte from 1 July 2012,

and retail cap (excluding VAT) of maybe

• 20 euro per gigabyte from 1 July 2012,

This is drastically lower (and faster) than the Commission’s proposal, but it would still leave the telecom operators with a markup on the production cost of more than 1000%.

If there are any (big incumbent) telecom operators out there who feel that they are unable to run their business on only a 1000% markup, then quite frankly they shouldn’t be running a business at all. If this is the case (which of course it isn’t), then they are more than welcome to return their frequency spectrum licences, and let more competent competitors take over instead.

The digital infrastructure is one of the most important enabling factors for economic growth in Europe. The fact that it is impossible today to buy a mobile subscription that lets you use data roaming at a reasonable price wherever you are in the EU is a major obstacle, both to companies who want to develop new applications for smartphones and portable computers, and to business in general.

If European businessmen can’t use their phones and computers as they are used to just because they cross a border, then it is ridiculous to even talk about an internal European market.

This is not about what may or may not be best for the telecom industry as such. It is a big industry, and it is economically important, but it is not the only one. Even if I am confident this regulation will be good for telecom industry as well, because it will open up a whole new market segment, that is not the primary purpose.

This is about creating the best conditions for strong and sustainable growth in all sectors of the European economy. An infrastructure that works across the borders is absolutely necessary to achieve that.

We should regulate as little as possible, but not less.

This is a good principle for legislators and politicians in general. We shouldn’t introduce a lot of unnecessary rules and regulations just because we can. But if we have to, we have to, and in this case we obviously do.

For once, we politicians can do something that is both popular, sensible, and sustainable, delivers results quickly and improves the economy, without even costing the tax-payers any money.

At a time when Europe’s economy needs all the help it can get, this is too good an opportunity to be missed.

…………

Others on the subject: Europeans for Fair Roaming

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Signed: The Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest

Read more about the Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest

American University Washington College of Law writes in a press release:

Experts and advocates working on international intellectual property (IP) issues came together at American University Washington College of Law Aug. 25-27, 2011 for the inaugural Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest.

With nearly 200 academics, practitioners, and government and private sector participants from 35 countries, the Global Congress served as a site for sharing research, ideas, and policy proposals for how international IP law can better protect global public interest concerns.

[...]

The final proposals from the collective Global Congress were released in the Washington Declaration on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. The declaration calls for advocacy to promote creativity and innovation through measures such as open information policies, limitations and exceptions to IP rights, reforms to the patent system, promotion of a free Internet, and policies that encourage the development of innovative models for rewarding creativity. It also pushes for the needs of developing countries to be properly addressed by the international IP system. Finally, the declaration encourages public policy to be made openly while weighing the costs and benefits of the presence and absence of IP rights.

[Read more]

This is a good declaration that has been drafted by leading academics and activists in the field.

The declaration contains a series of specific recommendations for action, and is divided into the following sections:

• Putting Intellectual Property in Its Place
• Valuing Openness and the Public Domain
• Strengthening Limitations and Exceptions
• Setting Public Interest Priorities for Patent Reform
• Supporting Cultural Creativity
• Checking Enforcement Excesses
• Implementing Development Agendas
• Requiring Evidence-based Policy Making

The Declaration will remain open for endorsement and comment throughout the next year, until the next Congress convenes in Rio de Janeiro in August 2012.

I just signed the Washington Declaration, and I encourage others who agree with it to do so as well. This is the new course that we urgently need to set for our intellectual property policies.

…………

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Dundersuccé för Piratenpartei i Berlin: 8,5%!

Piratenpartei fick 8,5% i valet i Berlin och tar plats i delstatsparlamentet

Vallokalerna har just stängt i delstatsvalet i Berlin, och vallokalsundersökningarna har presenterats.

Piratenpartei fick 8,5% och har tagit plats i delstatsparlamentet!

enligt Reuters.

Ett enormt stort jättegrattis till vårt tyska systerparti!

Valsegern i Berlin kommer att underlätta mitt arbete i EU-parlamentet. Den visar att Piratpartiet inte var någon dagslända, och är en påminnelse om att alla piratfrågorna fortfarande ligger olösta på bordet.

Läs mer i svenska Piratpartiets pressmeddelande.

…………

Andra om ämnet: SR Ekot, TT, Anna Troberg, Magnihasa, Hax, Maloki, Torrentfreak

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Studies On The Cultural Sector In The File Sharing Era

Music artist revenues in Sweden have gone up in the file sharing decade

Here are some links to articles summarizing academic research on how the cultural sector, including the music business, has fared in the file sharing era.

First, three studies on the music business in various member states:

• Sweden 2000 – 2008: More Charts The Record Labels Don’t Want You To See: Swedish Musicians Making More Money
• Norway 1999 – 2009: Artists Make More Money in File-Sharing Age Than Before It
• UK 2004 – 2008: Record companies lose, artists gain from file sharing

The three studies all paint the same picture: The revenues for the record companies have dropped by about half in the last decade, but at the same time, revenues for artists have gone up. The links above are to short articles summarizing the studies. In each case, the article contains further links to references.

An article in the Economist from last year, ”What’s working in music”, references studies from several countries, and concludes that although record sales are down, revenues from live performances have increased dramatically, in a way that more than compensates for the drop in sales of recorded music.

The Dutch study Ups and downs – Economic and cultural effects of file sharing on music, film and games (2009) takes a combined look at different cultural genres. It shows that between 1999 and 2007, revenues have increased for all of them, except music recordings. For the music industry, this study only looks at recorded music, and does not examine income for artists from other sources, such as concerts. This means that the study only confirms the negative trend for recorded music in line with the Swedish, Norwegian, and UK studies above, but leaves the part of the music sector that has made up for this outside the scope of the study.

A Harvard study from 2009 takes a look at the wider implications of file sharing for society, and finds that since the advent of file sharing, both the number of music albums and films released per year have increased. Canadian law professor Michael Geist summarizes the study under the heading Harvard Study Finds Weaker Copyright Protection Has Benefited Society.

Ten years ago, when file sharing on a massive scale on the Internet was a relatively new phenomenon (Napster came in 1999), it was not at all self-evident if and how the cultural sector would survive financially in the new era. But now we have more than a decade’s experience of a world where anybody who wants can download whatever they want for free, and where a large portion of the population routinely does.

We now know from experience that the cultural sector is financially sustainable despite rampant p2p file sharing. What may have appeared to be an insoluble problem a decade ago, has turned out not to be a problem at all, but in fact a huge opportunity for artists and creators, and a boon for sustainable cultural diversity.

It is still very difficult to make a living as an artist, it always has been, and it always will be. But at least it has become a little bit easier than it was before the Internet and p2p file sharing. In the music business, total revenues have increased slightly, while the big record companies are getting a smaller piece of the pie. This has left more money for the creative people who actually make the music (rather than just distribute it).

File sharing is not a problem that needs to be solved. It is something that is positive for both artists, consumers, and society as a whole. All we need to do now is to get copyright legislation in line with this new and positive reality.

By reforming copyright to legalize p2p file sharing that is done without direct commercial intent, we can put an end to the criminalization of an entire generation, while at the same time improving conditions for a vibrant cultural sector in Europe.

…………

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

”Valsensation – Pirater äntrar Berlin”

"Valsensation - Pirater äntrar Berlin" är rubriken

Berliner Kurier‘s förstasida imorgon ligger ute på nätet här, och här är deras hemsida på nätet. Rubriken på bägge lyder ”Valsensation – Pirater äntrar Berlin”.

Det är tyska Piratenpartei som har fått 9% i en opinionsundersökning inför delstatsvalet i Berlin nu på söndag. Småpartispärren i Tyskland ligger på 5%.

För en vecka sedan hade de 6.5%.

Deras Wahlprogram Berlin 2011 finns på nätet för den som vill öva sin tyska. Kärnan för Piratenpartei är densamma som för svenska Piratpartiet, men tyskarna har även breddat sig till fler områden.

Rick Falkvinge och Ung Pirats ordförande Gustav Nipe kommer att åka ner till Berlin för att vara med på valvakan där på söndag.

Ingenting är klart förrän det är klart, men det ser onekligen lovande ut.

…………

Andra om ämnet: Rick Falkvinge, Isak Gerson, Pressmeddelande från Piratpartiet, P3 Nyheter

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik

Copyright Term Extension: Defeat

The EU yesterday handed over an extension of the copyright monopoly from 50 to 70 years to the record companies

As expected and feared, the EU Council of Ministers yesterday took the decision to extend copyright for sound recordings retroactively from 50 to 70 years.

This is yet another example of how the Council and Commission of the EU are completely in the hands of the copyright lobby and will do whatever the lobbyists ask them to, no matter how absurd or harmful to society it may be.

The Belgian, Czech, Dutch, Luxembourg, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian and Swedish delegations were the only ones to vote against the extension.  Austria and Estonia abstained.

…………

Others on the subject: Torrentfreak, Open Rights Group, Iptegrity, The EU Commission

På svenska: TT, Anna Troberg (PP), Kulturbloggen, Viktualiebrodern, Upphovsträtan, Anders S Lindbäck

”Excellent! Half the job done.”

Read the interview at Debating Europe

The website Debating Europe has published an interview with me. Among other things, I say:

It is true that the record companies have lost half their revenues. I say: “Excellent! Half the job done”. What record companies do is distribution – it used to be an important function but now any teenage in his or her bedroom can do that work for free. In a market economy, your company will dissappear unless it’s competitive. The losses by the record companies just reflect a healthy market economy.

If you look at the statistics, people are spending as much, or even more, on music. But the big shift is that the record companies, who used to take lots of that, no longer have such a large cut – so more money is coming into the cultural sector, but more is also going to artists directly.

Read more at Debating Europe.

…………

Tags: piratpartiet, eu, politik, informationspolitik