How deeply must Europe bow to the lords of capital to satisfy them? It has given them a monopoly on invention, it has given them a monopoly on product-markings, and yet still, they scream "lower!" There is no limit, I fear; forever will they look down at us, our faces and bodies already pressed painfully to the ground in submission, and be stirred into anger by our lack of deference.
But I am, proudly, a communist, a representative of the working people. I fight for their freedom, for their right to stand unbowed before those who believe themselves entitled to power; their cause is my life.
And so I say no. I am therefore strongly opposed to this act, regardless of amendment.
Let me, however, turn to some more procedural concerns.
Some of the language in this act is ambiguous - Sections I.3.d and I.13.c, for example, could invite confusion. I have drafted some amendments to reword these possibly problematic sections; forgive me if my interpretations of them are incorrect, or my alternative phrasings even more obfuscating.
Furthermore, unlike the Patent System Act, which does not speak on what rights a European patent may or may not confer on its holder, leaving the issue to national legislatures and courts alone, and unlike the Trademark System Act, which provides for a rudimentary European-level administrative court to enforce its provisions, this bill creates a European-level framework for the public domain and fair use without creating a corresponding court, inviting a flood of copyright cases of European jurisdiction our European Court of Justice - the only institution legally authorized to hear such disputes - simply does not have the capacity to handle.
I am also confused as to why this act provides such specific guidance with respect to vexatious copyright cases; this is an issue, I feel, that ought to be left to the courts.
I thus propose the following amendments:
AMENDMENT I
SECTION I. EUROPEAN Copyright
1.This document defines 'European Copyright' as Copyright rights granted to a specific Copyright holder and legally recognized in all EU member nations. member-states that are members of the European Copyright System
AMENDMENT II
SECTION I. EUROPEAN Copyright
...
3.European Copyrights may not be granted for
a. Overarching cultural concepts
b. Common cultural symbols or landmarks of a culture or member state
c. generic concepts and tropes widely used in literature any form of media and/or art including common cultural names
d.where it is works too close to an existing Copyright that it could legitimately cause confusion between it and another work such that legitimate confusion with existing work(s) is possible
AMENDMENT III
SECTION I. EUROPEAN Copyright
...
3.European Copyrights may not be granted for
a. Overarching cultural concepts
b. Common cultural symbols or landmarks of a culture or member state
c. generic concepts and tropes widely used in literature including common cultural names
d.where it is too close to an existing Copyright that it could legitimately cause confusion between it and another work
e. works any not intended for international distribution or consumption
AMENDMENT IV
SECTION I. EUROPEAN Copyright
...
9.Copyrighted works after expiry may be used in any manner and without threat of any legal action. Any pursuance of legal action by the former copyright holder shall be treated as malicious and predatory and should be thrown out of the legal system. Should costs be incurred by the other party they must be paid by the former copyright holder with a possibility of repossession of property of the copyright holder should they refuse to pay such costs.
AMENDMENT V
SECTION 1. EUROPEAN Copyright
...
10.It shall be the responsibility of content hosts to take down copyright infringing materials with a dispute process to prevent abuse of any takedown system and the right to a manual review by a human to ensure any decision is correct and does not fall under definition of fair use.
11.A content host shall be defined as any server, media distributor including physical media retailer or website that distributes a piece of copyrighted work
12.If a content host refuses to meet the requirement to take down copyright infringing materials they may legally be blocked, physically closed or taken down by the nation state who shall have a responsibility to do so if the internet hosting service or content host of the copyright infringing material doesn’t take down the content in a timely manner
AMENDMENT VI
SECTION 1. EUROPEAN Copyright
....
13.Copyrighted works may be used as fair use but only if the portion of use is: by members of the general public if use is one or more of the following:
a. significantly transformative
b. Uses only the amount of material needed to make the point or parody the original copyrighted of a character and/or purpose different from that or those of the original work
c. does not detract from the sales or revenue of the original work such as just reacting silently to a whole clip on social media or using a whole work where less use of the work would suffice
d. Is not solely for profit or a direct copy of the copyrighted work
e. It is in public interest to air the clip such as in the case of political speech or political videos or exposing a company or organisation that is acting against a perceived public interest.
AMENDMENT VII
SECTION 1. EUROPEAN Copyright
...
13.Copyrighted works may be used as fair use but only if the portion of use is: by members the general public if use is one or more of the following:
a:Significantly transformative
b. Uses only the amount of material needed to make the point or parody the original copyrighted work
c. does not detract from the sales or revenue of the original work such as just reacting silently to a whole clip on social media or using a whole work where less use of the work would suffice
d. Is not solely for profit or a direct copy of the copyrighted work
e. It is in public interest to air the clip such as in the case of political speech or political videos or exposing a company or organisation that is acting against a perceived public interest.
AMENDMENT VIII
SECTION 1. EUROPEAN Copyright
.....
14. Any action taken against a work which is clearly protected by fair use provisions especially if used as a strategy within a pattern of behaviour shall be considered malicious prosecution with the responsible party liable for any damages including legal defense and income loss to the victim. If they do not pay these damages including the legal defense and income loss they may have their assets seized and sold off in order to pay off the victim.
AMENDMENT IX
SECTION II. EUROPEAN Copyright OFFICE
....
4.The Board of Appeal and Enforcement of the ECO shall
a. consist of a set number of qualified legal experts nominated by the European Council or its subcommittee; and
b. create and maintain a regulated system of courts to hear European Copyright disputes; said courts will hold judicial authority to give verdict in such cases
AMENDMENT X
SECTION III. FUNDING
1.Any one European Union member nation may willingly agree to pay a yearly membership fee to the European Copyright Office. This fee
a. grants any persons and/or legal persons registered or holding citizenship in the said member nation to apply for a European Copyright without any additional fees; and
b. is determined yearly by the Department of Finance of the ECO.
3. Persons and/or legal persons registered or holding citizenship in EU member nations states that have not paid the ECO membership fee or nations outside of the EU
a. can still normally apply for a European Copyright; however
b. are obliged to pay a fee, determined by the Department of Finance, to the ECO to cover the expenses of the application process, as well as another, equivalent to the value lost to the public by the granting of the copyright, as estimated by the Department of Finance, and to be distributed equally to all citizens of the member-states of the European Union
AMENDMENT XI
SECTION IV. WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EUROPEAN Copyright SYSTEM
1.When this document is approved by the European Council, the European Copyright System becomes valid in all European Union member nations. comes into existence.
2.Any European Union member nation state may declare its intention to join or withdraw from the European Copyright System.
a) The accession or withdrawal of a member-state from the European Copyright System becomes effective upon such declaration.
3.he European Copyright Office cannot guarantee that Copyrights approved in nations not part of the European Copyright System are recognised in all European Union member nations.
4.European Union member nations are encouraged to become part of the European Copyright System.
5.Any nation within the system must apply the new 15 years from publication limit to all national copyrights and move over the national copyrights to the European Copyright System.
AMENDMENT XII
replace all mentions of "member nations" and "member nation" with "member-states" and "member-state," respectively.
Iras Tilkanas
Councillor for the Republic of Istkalen