European Copyright Directive

[rickstef]

seeing that I have approved of the discussion about this topic, and its potential impact on all papermodelers worldwide, any postings on this subject are well worth the effort and time spent collecting and learning about it.

If you have no interest in this subject, you can skip the discussion in the future. This applies to anyone who doesn't want to read this or any other topic they might not be interested in.

Rick

[Papierschnitzel]

Thank you Kevin for the very well summary so far.



Regarding who might be interested. So far it will only be applicable in the EU and therefore affect EU citizens and foreign companies doing business there, but for other countries it could be very interesting as it shows where (esp lobbyist driven) laws could take the internet in the future. So it could be wise to follow this matter if this is a point of interest to you.


Chris

[John Wagenseil]

I do not live in EU but this legislation could impact me in so far as my ability to view EU web content might be affected.
An example of a European law about web content that affected non EU people was the take down several years ago of a very popular kartonmodel web site. Its owner felt that complying with a law regulating minor's access to web content was too onerous to comply with. As a result people around the world were deprived of access to this site.
After a quick read through the summary of the EU copyright directive, I see that it may provide a feast for copyright vultures: shell corporations that early on file many overlapping "junk" copyrights in order to force latecomers to pay them for the right to post on topics that are broadly covered by the copyright vulture's filings.
If some could slip by a copyright on the topic of " imagining, designing , creating, and assembling multidimensional representations of objects from a lesser dimensional organic or inorganic substrate", they could under the pending EU copyright law, force every internet using paper model designer, builder, blogger or publisher to pay a royalty fee.
Since the EU cannot directly enforce its laws on non EU web hosts, does that mean, Brussels will erect a copyright compliance barrier around the EU, and demand that EU ISPs block access to non compliant, non EU web sites hosting material covered by EU copyrights, and prevent users of unapproved, non EU ISPs from accessing EU web pages in order to prevent them from stealing web content protected by EU copyright?
Will EU copyright enforcers kick down my door and drag me away in the middle of the night if I make and give away a paper model of an object covered by EU copyright, say a late model car, or a character from a movie filmed in the EU?