FC: More on anti-piracy going too far -- or not -- and Italy's law

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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From: Mark.F.Schultz () BakerNet com
To: declan () well com
Subject: RE: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in Italy
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 14:39:13 -0600

Declan:

If the interpretation offered by Associazione Software Libero of Italian law
248/2000 is correct (i.e., if you do not have an official stamp on ANY
software media in Italy you could go to jail), then it is indeed quite bad
for both commercial and open-source developers.  However, lest this
interpretation spreads without challenge, I should tell you that my Italian
colleagues find this interpretation doubtful.

To put it as short as possible:  This portion of the law is very
controversial and confusing, industry people are contending that it applies
only to software that contains "sounds, voices or images" (I don't know what
is meant exactly by images), and everybody is waiting for a regulation that
is mandated by the law and that will provide further guidance.  Until the
regulation comes out, things are uncertain.  Will the result be as harsh as
the Associazione predicted?  Possibly, but a lot of people seem to think not
and have a stake in making sure that this is not the case.  As usual, your
mileage may vary, please consult competent Italian counsel before selling or
importing software into Italy.

So, is it possible that Italian advocacy groups use worst case scenarios to
make a point, just like American advocacy groups?  Yup.

Regards,

Mark Schultz
IT/E-commerce Practice Group
Baker & McKenzie
Chicago, IL

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From: Richard Lyons <richard () the-place net>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 20:09:13 GMT
Subject: Re: FC: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in Italy
To: declan () well com

Anyone want to start an internet business selling trendy italian stickers
to decorate your CDroms -- purely for recreational use of course...

ricardo

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Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 14:48:35 -0500
From: "Dana Colarulli" <dcolarulli () verner com>
To: <declan () well com>
Cc: <Prsdnt16 () aol com>
Subject: Re: FC: Where anti-piracy goes too far: A disturbing law in
        Italy

Decan:
In reference to your email with the above subject line, I also saw the 
below clip from the National Journal - - which might interest you.  IIPA 
referenced the Italian requirement in its submission to the USTR Special 
301/"Watch List" process.  The comment period for the process ended Friday, 
2/16 at noon. The USTR received 18 submissions in total.  I'll be over at 
USTR tomorrow (imagine: basement federal office/no windows/surrounded by 
file cabinets) looking at the IIPA and other comments on international IP 
violations (music/software).

On the 16th, the IIPA reported that its submission said "Taiwan, Indonesia 
and the Philippines  remain home to some of the world's largest organized 
crime syndicates that are actively engaged in the distribution of 
pirated  CDs. The report notes that while Egypt, Russian, Malaysia, 
and  Brazil are still hotbeds of bogus goods, governments in 
those  countries have made efforts to adopt new regulations aimed 
at  clamping down on such activities." (Newsbytes, 02.16.01)
- dana

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National Journal's Technology Daily February 20, 2001
February 20, 2001

PIRACY: Watchdogs Target Italian Piracy Protections

A cadre of software publishers, moviemakers, record companies  and other 
intellectual property heavyweight Monday asked the  U.S. government to turn 
up the heat on Italy to abide by  international piracy protection 
guidelines, reports Newsbytes.  The International Intellectual Property 
Alliance (IIPA) Friday  unveiled its proposals for the internationally 
dreaded "Special  301" list. Updated each year by the U.S. Trade 
Representative's  office, the Special 301 list identifies countries that 
officials  say are not living up to their obligations to prevent piracy 
of  U.S. intellectual property products. Business Software 
Alliance  President Robert Holleyman said the IIPA focused on Italy 
mainly  because the Italian government has imposed a new requirement  that 
legitimate software and other media be adorned with a  sticker issued by an 
Italian agency. Products not bearing the  sticker will not receive full 
piracy protection under Italian  law.


*************************************
Mr. Dana Colarulli
Law Clerk, Internet Ventures Group
Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand
202.371.6217 (ph)
202.371.6279 (fax)
dcolarulli () verner com
*************************************




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