infoJustice

A new EU Greens/ European Free Alliance position paper starts from the premise that copyright should guard against unauthorized commercial use, but individuals should be able to copy and share works as long as the author is cited.  It proposes specific changes to copyright in the EU –  “to share copies, or otherwise spread or make use of somebody else’s copyrighted work, should never be prohibited if it is done non-commercially and without a profit motive”; DRM circumventions should be legal, and the EU should consider a ban on “DRM technologies that restrict legal uses of a work”; copyright terms should be dramatically shortened to five years; copyright registration should be required in order for authors to “enjoy commercial exclusivity”;  clear limitations and exceptions should be put in place “to allow remixes and parodies, as well as quotation rights for sound and audiovisual material”;  and the European commission should work advocate in WIPO  for a legal norm that would ensure people with disabilities can “enjoy access to cultural materials in accessible formats.”

The Greens/EFA is a coalition comprised of Greens and others, including one MEP from the Pirate Party, Chistian Engstrom.  Speaking with TorrentFreak, he said “I think it’s great. The paper starts off by first going through what the situation is and what the goals are from a Green perspective, and then ends up in the same proposal for copyright reform that the Pirate Party advocates. This makes perfect sense.”

Sources:

• EU Greens/EFA position paper.  “Creation and Copyright in the Digital Era.” October, 2011.
• Ernesto for TorrentFreak. “European Greens Want to Legalize File Sharing.  October 7, 2011.
• Mike Masnick for Tech Dirt. “Here’s a Surprise: EU Green Party Adopts the Pirate Party’s Position on Copyright. October 7, 2011.