pouët.net

I'm not sure about posting this on Pouet, but given the GEMA-troubles and the fact we're all copyright-holders of our demoscene creations (not to mention what people do IRL), this might be of interest to you:

The European Commission is looking for opinions on copyright reform. The deadline is 5 February 2014, so there's not a lot of time. In fact, given the holiday timing and limited language translations, a case could be made they don't want to hear TOO much from the public. More info here:
http://boingboing.net/2014/01/05/urgent-input-needed-on-eu-cop.html

A webpage has been made at the 30C3 congress to make it easier to give feedback to the questions that interest you: http://copywrongs.eu/

But you can also see (and respond to) the full list with 80 questions here:
http://youcan.fixcopyright.eu/

I'm still working through the list, but there are already plenty of "interesting" questions:
- Should the provision of a hyperlink leading to a work protected under copyright be subject to the authorisation of the rightholder?
- Should temporary copies on-screen or in cache memory be subject to the authorisation of the rightholder?
- Should the EU make a giant registration database of all copyrighted works?
- Is the current copyright duration "appropriate for the digital environment"
etc etc.

Thank you for posting it here. There is little time left indeed.

I'm sorry to sound depressing but the subtitle even of the first survey question eludes to the fact that the EU Commission is not an elected group of people, therefore undemocratic, hence "your voice" means squat to them.
Given the "decisions" this bunch of misfits did during the last decade it is very unlikely that a "reform" of copyright laws will remedy any situation. On the contrary: worse regulations, more "red tape."

dodge: there are lobbies to force more transparency and accountability to the eu commission, one of the issues is to have them pay more attention to public input as opposed to financial lobbies. it would be a shame to let those efforts go to waste and not participate on this opportunity.

No copyright, no problem :)

No copyright, no money...

I'm sure the EU as a whole will make the right decision, whilst respecting the rights of the original songwriter. I guess it takes time to get all the stuff implemented.

I'm sure they'll make they right decision - whatever the right decision is for EMI and Warner and Sony/BMG

as for me, copyright didnt exist until now, and it will stay that way. let them kill themselves, i couldnt care less.

timbaland is quite pleased about that.

@ps I admire your naivité but did you by any chance take a peek into, say, the draft paper to install the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) ? That's the level of "transparency and accountability" you'll be likely to expect from EU legislation.

Covers 2 bases - "Gets popcorn" & pouetizes thread.

Say that to the fashion industry. They have no copyright, just trademarks and trade secrets, and they seem to be doing okay.

they also have a physical product that you can't copy very easily compared to data

sol: we're still listening to music written hundreds of years ago, while last year's fashion is in this year's bargain shops, it's not a good comparison ;) By the time somebody copies a design, gets the product made and shipped to where it can be sold, it's too late.

You mean recordings and performances of music written hundreds of years ago. Seems relevant to note that these are about as volatile as fashion trends. It might be a bad comparison but not for any of the reasons you mention. Counterfeit fashion items aren't exactly uncommon.

dodge: i agree with you that it might be naive of me. but without letting those people know they have opposition to their status quo of private interests they have no reason to operate against the economic lobby that is stiffling/corrupting the arts imho.

copyright is a complicated issue to deal with. i'm personally against it restricting access and limiting usage, but i understand why some folks see it as their only way to scrap profits out of their work.

excuse me while i laugh myself to tears

I eagerly await the new, beautiful world that has no copyright where musicians, authors, journalists, photographers, software engineers, game developers, artists and others like them live off the goodwill of their peers while their work can freely be used by any corporation or entity for any purpose. Then people will only create things out of passion, and boy will it ever be a glorious new renaissance of arts and humanities.

By the way, when it comes to fashion, timeless classic design like Chanel's little black dress never goes out of style. Not all high fashion is like that at all.

by the look of your example questions, they will probably discuss this for the next 12 years

Honestly, copyright reform should start in the minds; like, you know, people understanding that there is such a thing for a reason.

linde: there's copyright on the music itself, and copyright on the recording. A cover version is still a copy of an original song, it's just a different kind of copy from an mp3 rip.

Anyway, are we all agreed that copyright is a bad thing and should be got rid of? Good, I'll rebadge some farbrausch demos to release at revision.

They're selling physical goods though, those are governed by a completely different set of laws (it will get interesting if 3D printing goes mainstream though).

@psonice, copyright != authorship.

preacher: i agree that it's a very complicated issue and that copyright makes complete sense for commercial licensing. but imho not so much for private / non-commercial / artistic / archival. but yes, the world would be a much better place if people only created things out of passion and not because they have bills to pay, imho atleast, but yes, it's utopia, i realize that.

gargaj, psonice: you folks seem to be assuming that copyright reform implies voidance of authorship and embracing plagiarism. they are not the same. it is possible to decriminalize the remixing culture without voiding authorship altogether.

other concearns about current copyright:
- private corporations pushing for copyright of material over 70 years old instead of letting if fall into public domain.
- national collection agencies scamming artists, not allowing them to collect directly from source, not transfering to other national collection agencies, forcing payment for registering an artwork, not allowing legal print without registration, etc.

it's not just about kids wanting to watch youtube videos of 1D on another country. not for me atleast. but i do advocate for a proper copyright reform.