Re: [LUG] European Copyright Directive Reminder

[Simon Waters <Simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Brough, Tom" wrote:
>         But this is exactly the way our strange laws work. It is not
> necessarily illegal to advertise distribute and sell equipment that allows
> you to duplicate, its only illegal when you actually come to use it.

Not from December unless this is defeated, it will be illegal,
with potentially 2 years in jail.

The definition allows exemption for devices which have other
"commercially significant uses", although what "commercially
significant uses" are, I don't understand, or what "effective
technical measures" constitute - presumably if you can buy a
device to copy it the measures are by definition "ineffective"
;-)

Whether a free software format "X" player can be said to have
other commercially significant uses if everyone who releases
format "X" material does it commercially for playback on
proprietary format "X" licenced devices?

Somehow the exemption for private and domestic use (surely that
should be "private or domestic"?), the right to buy products
that can't be advertised, doesn't make me feel better. So it
looks like you'll be able to import domestic format "X" copiers
from Taiwan still, just not buy them in the high street, or use
them at work.

Ultimately you get away with what people let you get away with,
but I can see this being used mainly against people engaged in
reasonable business, as anyone caught
making/selling/distributing unauthorised copies can be
prosecuted anyway. 

"any device, product or component which is primarily designed,
produced, or adapted for the purpose of enabling or facilitating
the circumvention of effective technological measures." - will
this include such things as software snippits that decrypt DVD
or other formats, it is claimed not, but it is all a little too
vague.

296ZB. (1) A person commits an offence if he-

                (a) makes for sale or hire, or
                (b) imports otherwise than for his private and
domestic use, or
                (c) in the course of a business-
                    (i) sells or lets for hire, or
                    (ii) offers or exposes for sale or hire, or
                    (iii) advertises for sale or hire, or
                    (iv) possesses, or
                    (v) distributes, or
                (d) distributes otherwise than in the course of
a business to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the
copyright owner

                any device, product or component which is
primarily designed, produced, or adapted for the purpose of
enabling or facilitating the circumvention of effective
technological measures.

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