[thelist] Electronic Frontier Foundation: Don't Let Europe Turn Its Citizens into Copycriminals!

[David Kaufman]

* Don't Let Europe Turn Its Citizens into Copycriminals!

Sign EFF's Petition Against IPRED2 at www.copycrime.eu

On April 24th, the European Parliament will vote on IPRED2,
the Second Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive.
With one stroke, they risk turning thousands of innocent EU
citizens and businesses into copycriminals.

If IPRED2 passes in its current form, "aiding, abetting, or
inciting" copyright infringement on a "commercial scale" in
the EU will become a crime.

The entertainment industry has made it clear that it sees
sites like YouTube, P2P software, and even ISPs as
"inciting" infringement. With IPRED2, the industry is
pressuring governments in Europe to use taxpayers' money to
enforce these prohibitive ideas of intellectual property.
If IPRED2 were to become law, entertainment companies would
even be able assist police in an official role as part of
transnational "joint investigation teams."

Even though this represents a huge change in how
intellectual property will be treated under the law, many
terms in IPRED2 are left unclear or undefined -- including
"commercial scale" and "incitement." Companies or
individuals crossing these fuzzy lines can face permanent
bans on doing business, as well as seizure of assets,
criminal records, and fines of up to 100,000 euros.

EFF Europe, together with other European activist groups,
is working hard in Brussels to fix IPRED2. Send a message
to the European Parliament, and receive up-to-date
information, by visiting the copycrime website and signing
our petition now!

More info:
<http://www.copycrime.eu/>