Copyright Treaty Being Kept Top Secret

[admin]

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement has been under discussion for some time now. It covers a very broad range of subject, and it could make P2P illegal, force ISPs to become copyright cops, let customs search people's iPods at airports for downloaded MP3s, and many other changes that will affect you - except the government won't let you see the proposed treaty, citing "national security" concerns.

But despite this, 42 private individuals have managed to see the documents, except they're bound by a nondisclosure agreement that they had to sign before being able to see the proposals. Luckily, the individuals that have been allowed to look at the treaty come from both sides of the copyright debate, but without being able to discuss it, and thus publicly support or protest key elements of it, there is no room for debate.

The countries that will aim to sign the treaty will discuss the details, privately, in South Korea next month.

More:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/200...pyrighttreaty/

[admin]

Part of the treaty has been leaked (hey, what did they expect?), and here are some of the main points in the treaty:

* User contributed materials, such as blog posts and YouTube uploads, have to be proactively policed by those responsible (of course, with the millions of videos uploaded to YouTube, the only efficient solution may be to actually close YouTube,)

* ISPs have to cut off Internet access to *suspected* copyright infringers or they can face legal action. So not even three-strikes?

* The world has to adopt a US style DMCA takedown system, despite the system being extremely flawed and frequently being abused to stifle free speech

* Total banning on circumventing DRM, even for legal reasons (so if you buy a song with a DRM system that doesn't work properly, then sucks to be you)

No wonder they wanted to keep this thing secret!

More:

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/03...right-tre.html