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Deutsch: Geheime IPR-Maßnahmen im Handelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Südkore...

The European Union and South Korea plan to initiate a Free Trade Agreement in October 2009. The trade agreement includes civil, border and criminal measures for the enforcement of copyright, trademark rights, patents and other exclusive rights. The text of the agreement is secret.

In the Netherlands, EDRi-member Vrijschrift.org last week asked the parliamentary Commission on Subsidiarity to investigate the EU - South Korea trade agreement.

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Deutsch: Britische Musikindustrie ist bei der Verbindungstrennung für p2p-User...

UK Secretary of State Lord Mandelson's proposal to use technical measures to cut off connections of illegal file-sharers met different reactions within UK music industry.

A coalition including the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and the Music Producers Guild (MPG) has recently expressed its opinion that the suspension of connections of allegedly illegal file-sharers was a "grossly disproportionate" measure.

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Deutsch: Die Annahme der zweiten Version des Drei Treffer-Gesetzes rückt in Fr...

On 15 September 2009, the French deputies adopted the amended version of the three strikes law (also known as Hadopi 2) by only 55% votes.

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Deutsch: GB: das p2p drei Treffer-Schema greift trotz Bedenken über Bürgerrec...

A new proposal shows that the UK Government has given in to the pressure of right holders who have complained that the measures proposed by the 'Digital Britain' report were not powerful enough "to have a significant deterrent effect on infringing behaviour".

The new proposals would allow Lord Peter Mandelson, UK Secretary of State, to approve automated sanctions against file-sharers (so basically a three strikes scheme) and thus, practically, placing the regulator Ofcom under Mandelson's orders.

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Deutsch: The Pirate Bay – Staatsfeind Nummer 1

The Pirate Bay (TBP) seems to be the website in the limelight these days, after the music industry decided to attack it with every legal possibility and in any country they can, with actions in Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Ireland and, of course, Sweden.

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Deutsch: Britischer ISP gibt direkte Trennungen der Verbindungen von File-Share...

UK ISP Karoo belonging to Hull based KCom telecom company, announced on 24 July it would change its policy and apply a three-strikes system for the customers allegedly infringing copyright.

Within the agreement with the entertainment industries, the UK ISPs have agreed to send out warning letters to users suspected of downloading copyrighted material from the Internet. Karoo, holding the monopoly in Hull as the only ISP in area, has been exceeded this procedure for some time now, having directly disconnected its users for suspected file-sharing.

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Deutsch: Endabstimmung über Hadopi 2 auf den 15. September verschoben

The French deputies had only a few days before the summer vacation to debate the new text of the three strikes law (called Hadopi 2) that was adopted by the Senate on 8 July 2009. As the opposition introduced a very large number of amendments, a vote for the entire text was not possible and the National Assembly President's decision was to postpone the vote until September.

The Assembly had 894 amendments to discuss but the text was not basically modified, but rather adjusted.

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Deutsch: Die großen Plattenfirmen haben es auf die irischen ISPs abegesehen

The big music record companies, EMI Records (Ireland), Sony Music Entertainment Ireland, Universal Music Ireland, Warner Music Ireland and WEA International Incorporated, are after the Irish ISPs trying to force them to adopt a three strikes policy against repeated illegal file-sharers.

The record companies have recently entered separate cases into Ireland's Commercial Court against BT Communications Ireland and UPC Communications Ireland after having succeeded in reaching an off-court settlement with Eircom.