MESSAGE
| DATE | 2003-02-26 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] [robin@ipjustice.org: Int'l Civil Liberties Group Demands Global Reform of Intellectual Property Laws]
|
From: Robin Gross
Subject: Int'l Civil Liberties Group Demands Global Reform of
Intellectual Property Laws
IP Justice Media Release
Feb. 25, 2003
Contact: Robin Gross, Executive Director, IP Justice
robin-at-ipjustice.org +1 415.863.5459
[(886) 2-2729-5533, Room #306 in Taipei]
International Civil Liberties Group Demands Global Reform of Intellectual
Property Laws
Publishes “Principles of IP Justice” to Protect Consumer Rights
Taipei - IP Justice, a new international civil liberties
organization focusing on global intellectual property issues, launched
today from the APRICOT 2003 technology conference in Taiwan. The mission
of the new advocacy group is to promote balanced intellectual property laws
and protect freedom of expression in both traditional and digital media. A
grassroots membership based organization with offices in San Francisco, IP
Justice advocates for respecting the rights of both creators and consumers
of intellectual property.
IP Justice Executive Director Robin Gross urged global reform of expanding
intellectual property rights that threaten innovation and individual
liberties as she kicked off the organization’s official
launch. “Traditional consumer rights are under attack from intellectual
property holders using technology to control our experience with digital
media,” Gross stated. “Intellectual property laws have become so extreme
that it is now often illegal to try to make a personal copy of one’s own
music CDs. Individuals have been sued and even criminally prosecuted for
attempting to build their own DVD playing software. Pending cases seek to
prohibit consumers from fast-forwarding through commercials or auto-muting
offensive language, ” she said. According to Gross, her group aims to curb
these misuses of intellectual property laws by “raising global public
awareness about the civil liberty implications of intellectual property in
a digital world.”
Norwegian teen Jon Johansen, who was found innocent by an Oslo court last
month for attempting to write software that could play his DVDs on his
Linux computer, applauded the global effort. "The lack of a coordinated
international effort has been a serious problem. That is why I am very
happy to see IP Justice step up to the task. It is time to bring sanity
and balance to international copyright laws,” said Johansen, whose
acquittal is currently under appeal by the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit.
"Without international cooperation, the fight for individual rights on a
national level is futile,” said Ville Oksanen, Vice-Chairman of Electronic
Frontier Finland (EFFi). “International agreements like the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, and the World
Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS) create a legal 'web', in which nation states become
caught. Thus, the change must start from the top and must come from the
people. And it will not happen unless we create a truly global movement
for IP Justice," Oksanen added.
Prior to founding IP Justice, Gross was an intellectual property attorney
with the US cyber-liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation. There,
Gross headed-up the legal team fighting the now famous DVD/DeCSS cases and
she founded its Campaign for Audiovisual Free Expression (CAFÉ) in 1999.
“In most cases in Italy and throughout Europe, intellectual property laws
are not enacted from an 'IP Justice' point of view, but rather to
perpetuate the dominance of particular entrenched economic interests,” said
Giovanni Ziccardi, Professor of Legal Informatics at the University of
Milan Law School. “IP Justice can help scholars all over the world to work
together and find a fair balance between the rights of the authors and
freedom of information, to prevent censorship, and most important of all,
to preserve our cultural heritage," Ziccardi added.
>From the forum in Asia today, Gross unveiled the “Principles of IP
Justice” a document that positively asserts individual rights to use
intellectual property and encourages fairly compensating creators. Gross
encouraged global citizens to sign-on in support of these principles via
the IP Justice website.
“The Principles of IP Justice are intended to voice our collective concern
to courts and lawmakers worldwide over the loss of individual liberty to
use our digital media,” Gross said. “Intellectual property laws must be
reformed in order to restore traditional consumer rights like personal
noncommercial copying of our music and movies. Compensating creators is
important, but excessive control harms everyone, including the creative
community,” she added.
Published in several languages for international support, the principles
stake a claim against abuses by international media giants. “The
Principles send a clear message that individuals expect to remain in
control over the private use of their digital media,” said Gross.
The five “Principles of IP Justice” are:
1. We reserve the right to control our individual experience of
intellectual property.
2. Creators deserve to be compensated.
3. We reserve our right to make private copies of lawfully acquired
intellectual property.
4. Technology and information that enable the exercise of rights should be
lawful.
5. “Copy Rights” come with “Copy Responsibilities.”
To view the “Principles of IP Justice”:
http://www.ipjustice.org/principles.htm
IP Justice’s Website:
http://www.ipjustice.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IP Justice is a grassroots membership based civil liberties organization
that promotes balanced intellectual property law. IP Justice defends
individual rights to use digital media worldwide and is a registered
California non-profit organization. IP Justice was founded in 2002 by
Robin Gross, who serves as its Executive Director. To learn more about IP
Justice, visit the website at http://www.ipjustice.org.
IP JUSTICE
Robin D. Gross, Esq.
Executive Director www.ipjustice.org
robin-at-ipjustice.org +1 415 863 5459
----- End forwarded message -----
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