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WIPO Music Control Treaty Ratified
Greyfox writes: "Here's one that slipped through the cracks. The WIPO (You know, that unelected, unaccountable organization that lives in the Corporate back pockets) has ratified a anti-music piracy treaty which will go into effect on May 20. It apparently has anti-circumvention measures similar to the DMCA and will carry the force of law in the USA and other member countries." We had a more informative story about these two treaties a few months ago. The only new information is that the Phonograms and Performances Treaty now has enough signatures to go into effect in May.
from the referenced CNN article:
Does it have the "force of law," or does it simply mean that nations have agreed to enact laws aligned with the treaty?
Not that the intellectual "property" goons at the media empires have a prayer in the long run, anyway. They can't get away with selling bandwidth to the public on one hand and locking up content on the other. They're mutually exclusive.
And he was worried that global organizations were hurting national sovereignty, if I interpreted his speech correctly. He was talking about organizations like the World Trade Organization whose agreements bind member nations to follow their policy above their own local laws, or be punished. It isn't just the national organiztaions that we must pay attention to now, but international ones like the World Intellectual Property Organizations whose treaties bind their members to follow their laws, for better or for worse.
There are many organizations not appointed by the public or any election, and these are called de facto organizations. Most of the time these organizations exist because the government wants to do something that the public would never support, such as a fascist war on the citizens (DEA). These organizations have their own laws and regulate themselves, and do not have to pay attention to the opinions of us peasants.
Can this treaty realy be compared to the DMCA. As I see it the worst part about the DMCA - restricting the freedom of speech by outlawing the *construction* of circumvention devices (read programs) - is not present in this treaty. The clost they get to this seem to be Article 18 and 19 which I interpred solely as forbing the *use* of said devices/programs. Which of course is bad that too... but not as bad as the DMCA.
I don't know how it stands in the US, but the habit in the UK now days is either to flash the firmware for the DVD drive, buy it preflashed with region free firmware or for the terribly paranoid simply buy a couple more. At $30 a drive the cost for foreign film viewing is somewhat lower than the cost of a PAL/NTSC convertor 8)
This is becoming a real problem. I know (TIC) that we are all law abiding citizens. As long as 'The Anonymous' lets the cat out of the bag as happened with DeCSS, the general population can't be judged as criminals, IMHO. (I personally don't think Jon was the one who did the decryption.) I do see the DMCA and the WIPO tripe, et al, causing one of the largest underground movements of all time in the cause of Intellectual Freedom. Some will get nailed for sure but they can't put everyone in jail.
This was lobbyed for very heavily by the IFPI and the RIAA. Jason Berman is the head of the IFPI (and the former head of the RIAA, he reccommended Hilary Rosen to replace him. He is based out out New York and has been a steady fixture at the WIPO meeting and debates. One has to ask why the head of an organization based in London, lives in New York, unless this was the plan all along. He is a former Warner Bros exec and a Senate aide. While we were watching the Hilary, Berman was expanding US copyright policy to the world. More on Berman.
Here;s the fun part. there is no EULA on cd music. I didnt see no Open here to agree, click to agree, etc... So imposing new restrictions require laws... the chances of these laws getting enforced are pretty minimal and any law that will be almost universally ignored will eventually get overturned or just create a giant underground that will tople the companies. think about that for a moment.. The record companies are creating a huge problem for themselves.. a underground is starting to grow and build that will start taking real profits away from them, not just the made up for TV stats profits lost they have been talking about.
I welcome this... it will start a nice change that will redefine and redesign the world as we know it... and it will destroy the record companies and movie companies.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
- the performer shall, as regards his live aural performances or perfomances fixed in phonograms, have the right
... to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of his performances that would be prejudicial to his reputation.
So, for example, if I take a video of Eminem and pick out the more inflammatory parts, under the rules of fair use, to demonstrate his use of hate speechI/O Error G-17: Aborting Installation
That's just silly. You don't see "Though Shalt Not Kill" engraved on each hand gun; do you?
--an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
Doesn't the constitution specify that no treaty
is effective or binding unless ratified by Congress?
Now I know that much of the Constitution is
an irrelevant theoretic excercise, since Roosevelt
established an autocratic presidency by threatening
to pack the supreme court in order to get the
grotesquely unconstitutional ruling of washburn
in 1942, but surely this core element of the
document is still in force!
-I like my women like I like my tea: green-
I think if this is found to be unconstitutional, it will be because WIPO and the WTO are not treaties. A treaty is a piece of paper with words on it.
...
WIPO and WTO are essentially legislative bodies given teeth by treaties.
The difference is? A *treaty* is a fixed agreement, whereas WIPO/WTO is an amorphous, unelected, non-democratic body with the "power" to pass legislation with the same power as the US constitution? I claim that a treaty and WIPO/WTO are two completley different animals, and thus that line of the document does not apply.
I think any of our founding fathers would cringe at the situation we're in
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley