France is debating new copyright measures, as described in the International Herald Tribune:

The light penalties for piracy that legal commentators say the final legislation is likely to prescribe have been described by some members of the music industry as the equivalent of an economic firing squad. Others speak of a betrayal of the principles of Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, the 18th-century playwright whom the French credit with inventing the concept of copyright to protect authors.

The progress of the bill, known as the author's rights law, has been dogged by unexpected twists. Just before Christmas, a nearly empty Parliament during a late-night session voted to create a license to legalize free music sharing over the Internet, something considered criminal in many legal systems.

While the French government opposed that license - which was withdrawn, resubmitted and finally voted down last week - it supports two other changes in the copyright legislation that continue to upset the major music labels.

The latest version of the bill favors watering down the punishment for unauthorized downloading of copyrighted material over the Internet. Illegal downloaders who now face a fine of as much as €300,000, or $358,000, and three years in prison would, under the government's plan, be risking a maximum fine of €38, if their downloading is for personal consumption.

For the music industry, here's the good news: I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

It is not harsh penalities that deter. Study after study shows, it is the likelihood of getting caught. That's the bad news. I take it that France is not a particularly friendly venue for suits against individuals. Which is what makes the next proposed legal change particularly appalling:

The government's proposal also forces Internet music merchants like Apple's iTunes to provide songs for sale in a digitized format that is compatible with all music players, rather than just their own, like the iPod.

Absolutely idiotic. If legal boundaries fail, there must be technological boundaries. And the difficulty of the technical problems is such that proprietary, closed models tied to hardware are (for the present) easier to manage than fully interoperable ones. The "new business model" hasn't been discovered yet, but for now the iPod is the closest candidate, and there's nothing to be gained by turning the market into a Hobbesian free-for-all. Consumers want interoperability, yes, so let the pace of progress be driven by their demand.

posted by Solveig Singleton @ 11:40 AM | International

Link to this Entry | Printer-Friendly | Email a Comment | Post a Comment(0)