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EU IP Enforcement Directive Criticized

Posted by michael on from the just-words dept.

wiredog writes "A commentary at ZDNet UK concerning the proposed EU IP Enforcement Directive describes it as being as bad as, or possibly worse than, the American DMCA. Some snippets: 'You want to change the tyres on your 2006 model Ford Prefect? Anything other than genuine Ford tyres -- with the genuine Ford ID chip -- will disable your car. In the brave new world of the Directive, singing ... in public with your hat on the floor would be a crime,... You can imagine how much the police are going to enjoy having to cope with that.' It closes with the observation that "intellectual property is verging on thought crime."" Civil liberties groups have sent a letter to EU urging that the proposal be rejected.

12 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Will it... by BMonger · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... stop me from putting my pants on backwards? If it does that then count me in.

  2. Ford Prefect... the Car? by LordYUK · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is it faster than Chevy's Arthur Dent or Toyotas Zaphod Beeblebrox?

    Oh well, I just hope it comes with a towel... and a pint of beer!!

    --
    This is my sig. Its pathetic.
    1. Re:Ford Prefect... the Car? by mikeb · · Score: 2, Funny

      I used to drive a Ford Prefect, it was bought for me by my parents in 1970 to get me off a motorbike that they hated (a Velocette Viper).

      The worst part of the car was the vacuum wipers, driven by the manifold pressure. This meant that when you lifted off the accelerator they went berserk, but flat-out they stopped altogether. A piece of design genius that should be more widely celebrated.

      The bottom of the bodyshell finally rotted through a couple of years later and I had it scrapped.

      The engine was a sidevalve model, none of that fancy overhead-cam stuff.

  3. OK.. My new book idea by bigattichouse · · Score: 4, Funny

    I will publish a book called "How to oppress the people", online, in a Wikipedia format. In that book I will describe and detail plans and methods for oppressing free speech, in a simple ho-to format. I will then sue any and all legislators that infringe upon my IP by writing blatent copies of my ideas.

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    meh
    1. Re:OK.. My new book idea by borgasm · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sorry, somebody already beat you to it.

      The White House

  4. First thing first... by BrynM · · Score: 3, Funny
    From the very first words on the article page:

    "IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE - The information on this site is subject to a disclaimer and a copyright notice."
    I guess it'll be subject to a whole lot more in the future ;)
    --
    US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
  5. But shouldn't corporations be allowed to ... by burgburgburg · · Score: 3, Funny

    send law enforcement agents into your home at any time of day or night to ensure that you are not making purchasing decisions that interfere with their ability to have a predictable revenue stream? Shouldn't any distortion of current laws/regulations that they can buy with their influence be enforced to the strictest letter of the law (including capital punishment where dictated) to make sure that profits are not harmed? Why aren't you all sitting in front of your TVs watching Rollerball (the original)? The Corporate Wars have been resolved for your benefit. Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan!

  6. I'm glad to see... by BJZQ8 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm glad to see that the United States doesn't have a monopoly on half-baked, industry-sponsored, wacked-out legislation...

  7. Re:Directives by Jugalator · · Score: 2, Funny

    would the prime directive overrule this? "No matter what, don't let your society interfere with the evolution of another society unless the two can possibly be federated as members of a larger society."

    Hmm, I thought the prime directives were:

    1. Serve The Public Trust
    2. Protect The Innocent
    3. Uphold The Law

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  8. Re:They don't make tyres ...YET by Darth · · Score: 2, Funny

    In fact, they could even have the ID chip shut off after a year, requiring people to buy new tyres from Ford on yearly basis no matter what the wear/tear/condition was.

    dont be rediculous. no company would put their customers into a mandatory, pointless, yearly upgrade cycle just to sustain their profits.

    I mean, to do that, they'd have to have a monopoly.

    --
    Darth --
    Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
  9. Ross Anderson's opinion by Richard+W.M.+Jones · · Score: 2, Funny
    "A Threat to Competition and to Liberty".

    Rich.

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    libguestfs - tools for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images
  10. Re:Time to go underground by isorox · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm afraid the world WILL go out, not with a bang but with a whimper.

    Well, lets make sure it will go out with a bang then! Vote Bush in 2004!