[DDN] IFPI's threats against DJ's are backfiring, according to Tages-Anzeiger. Yet...

[Claude Almansi]

Hi All

IFPI Switzerland www.ifpi.ch started an intimidation campaign against
DJ's, sending registered letters and contracts they were meant to sign
lest IFPI sue them. IFPI alleged that DJs' use of copied CDs in their
work violated art. 36 of the Swiss copyright law
<http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/231_1/a36.html>. But art.36 only speaks
of exclusive rights on the distribution of copies of supports, not of
performing content from a copied support, for which DJs already pay a
tax to Suisa.

According to Eric Baumann's "Drohung an DJs wird zum Rohrkrepierer"
<http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/dyn/news/wirtschaft/750751.html> article
(1) in Tages-Anzeiger (May 11, 2007), most DJs just ignored the
threats, none have been sued, and none have received a second warning
so far.

The difference between this intimidation campaign and IFPI's 2005
"Game Over" campaign meant to  frighten private users into paying up
for having downloaded copyrighted music - which is NOT illegal in
Switzerland - is that IFPI trumpeted Game Over in well-pubicized media
conferences, whereas they don't even mention the "or else" letters to
the DJs  on their website. Just hoping to discre/etely  frighten  some
DJ's into coughing up?

Well, some DJ's  did, even if only a minority. And so some others are
toying with the idea of provoking the IFPI into a court case, to stop
their bullying.

 IFPI Switzerland is also contemporaneously leading an aggressive
lobbying campaign for the removal from the bill of the new version of
the Swiss copyright law, of  the article specifying the restrictions
of the interdiction of circumventing digital anticopy  measures.  The
removal of these restrictions, i.e. making the interdiction of
circumvention absolute,  would very seriously harm blind people's to
information and knowledge (2). So the social usefulness of  a possible
 IFPI's defeat in court would go beyond the DJs' circle as well.

But does anyone in this list know if there have been precedent similar
court cases in other countries? And if yes, what was the outcome?

Thank you in advance

Best

Claude


(1) IFPI's threats against DJ's are backfiring -  Google language
tools http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en  give the gist of the
whole article fairly well, provided you show healthy skepticism
towards things like "5000 Franconias" (for CHF 5000).

(2) See Bernhard Heinser's "Statement wegen Urheberrecht -
Schutzausnahme - Umgehungsverbot"
http://www.siug.ch/URG/statement-sbszh-2007-05-08  (again, Google
language tools will give the gist), and in English, my (human)
translation of an interview with Luca Mascaro on the same issues:
<http://noimedia.wikispaces.com/assistive_tech_and_DRM>

-- 
Claude Almansi
v. Cantonale 22
CH-6532 Castione
cell. +41 (0)76 401 85 69
gruppo di lavoro Noi Media www.noimedia.org
Swiss Internet User Group www.siug.ch