French-Law.net

A New Deal for End Users? Lessons From a French Innovation in the Regulation of Interoperability

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:46:13 -0500

[Article published in the William and Mary Law Review] In 2007, France created the Regulatory Authority for Technical Measures (l’Autorité de Régulation des Mesures Techniques or ARMT), an independent regulatory agency charged with promoting the interoperability of digital media distributed with embedded “technical protection measures” (TPM), also known as “digital rights management” technologies (DRM). ARMT was established in part to rectify what French lawmakers perceived as an imbalance in the rights of copyright owners and end users created when the European Copyright Directive (EUCD) was transposed into French law as the “Loi sur le Droit d’Auteur et les Droits Voisins dans la Société de l’Information” (DADVSI). ARMT is both a traditional independent regulatory agency and a novel attempt to develop a new governance structure at the national level to address global information economy challenges. The fear that other national governments might follow suit seems to have helped to cool enthusiasm for TPM among some businesses. This Article notes parallels between the limitations imposed on ARMT and those imposed on the first modern independent regulatory agencies that emerged in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Using history as a guide, it is not surprising that the ARMT’s exercise of authority has been limited during its early years; it remains possible that ARMT may become a model for legislation in other countries. It took decades before the first American independent regulatory agencies exercised real authority, and their legitimacy was not established beyond question until Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” Even though information society institutions may evolve quickly, national governments are sure to require more time to develop effective, legitimate ways to ensure that global information and communication technology (ICT) standards conform to their national social policies.

European Legal e-Access conference in Paris

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:31:25 -0500

On Thursday I will be at the European Legal e-Access conference in Paris which is coordinated by the French Government (under France’s EU presidency). I will be talking at a round table about "how to promote and improve access to a European legal literature". I will present this blog and SCRIPTed, the online, peer-reviewed law and technology journal of the University of Edinburgh. Here is the link to the full program of the three day conference, available in English, French, German and Spanish. I am looking forward to meeting many of you there.

Blawg Review #165

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:00:00 -0400

I am delighted to host this week’s Blawg Review. Bienvenue sur French-law.net! About Blawg Review: Blawg Review is the blog carnival for everyone interested in law. A peer-reviewed blog carnival, the host of each Blawg Review decides which of the submissions and recommended posts are suitable for inclusion in the presentation.

French Culture Minister to present “graduated response” bill on 11th June

Fri, 23 May 2008 00:33:22 -0400

Christine Albanel, the French Culture Minister (picture), has announced she will present her controversial “graduated response” bill to the French cabinet on 11th June. The bill (often referred to as the “three strikes and you’re out” bill in countries where baseball rules) would require Internet Service Providers to disconnect subscribers involved in multiple instances of illegal file-sharing. The Minister intends for the bill to be discussed and adopted by Parliament before summer recess.

ASIC : the trade association for web 2.0 companies in France (Association des services internet communautaires)

Wed, 21 May 2008 18:24:12 -0400

The ASIC is the trade association for companies whose activities and services depend on and promote participation from internet users. These companies which foster participation from internet communities are generally referred to as Web 2.0 companies or, less frequently, User-Generated Content services. In December 2007, AOL, Dailymotion, Google, PriceMinister and Yahoo founded the French “Association des services internet communautaires” or ASIC.[1] The founding members were later joined by others Web 2.0 companies, most notably, internet heavyweights Microsoft, Wikimedia and MySpace.[2]