EU report recommends open access to publicly funded scientific research http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.8/openaccess "This is a serious blow for traditional publishers of scientific journals who are worried that subscriptions will drop. According to the report, the price of scientific journals increased 300% more than the inflation rate during the last 10 years, which put a limitation to the dissemination of knowledge and scientific progress."
Debate on the revision of Swiss copyright law http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number4.8/copyrightswiss "The primary goal of the copyright revision is the ratification of the two WIPO Internet Treaties. (...) A crucial point is the legal status conferred to technical copyright protection measures, such as Digital Rights Management (DRM), and ensuring prohibition of their circumvention. However, in contrast with copyright laws passed in other countries, circumvention would be allowed for uses authorized in general by copyright law (personal copies, fair use). File downloading will remain legal, because users cannot be required to decide whether a file is offered legally or not. The proposed law clarifies the legal status of Internet Providers, stating that they can't be held responsible for their customers' copyright infringements. The Federal Council would also install an Observatory (Observatoire des mesures techniques) to arbitrate between the different parties and to watch over the use and misuse of technical protection measures. The Observatory was heavily criticised by all sides, especially by consumer organisations because it would lack power. Regarding the payment of rights, the Federal Council favors the co-existence of their traditional levying by collecting societies, and of direct automated levying through DRM technologies." -- Benoît Sibaud _______________________________________________ Liste de discussion FSF France. http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-france
