Here.
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Monday, December 02, 2013
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Film Producers and Distributors Obtain Site Block from Paris Court
The1709blog.blogspot.co.uk, here.
Bundesgerichtshof zur Nutzung urheberrechtlich geschützter Werke auf elektronischen Lernplattformen von Universitäten
Urteil vom 28. November 2013 - I ZR 76/12 - Meilensteine der Psychologie, Pressemitteilung hier.
Pour le respect des droits fondamentaux des lecteurs dans un environnement numérique
Association des Bibliothécaires de France, ici.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
The Three-Step-Test Revisited: How to Use the Test’s Flexibility in National Copyright Law
C. Geiger, D. Gervais, M. Senftleben, here.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sustainability of Open Source software communities beyond a fork: How and why has the LibreOffice project evolved?
J. Gamalielsson, B. Lundell, here.
Brussels to launch antitrust probe into sales of pay-TV rights
Financial Times, here.
"Joaquín Almunia, the EU competition commissioner, last year sanctioned a “fact finding” effort in light of the (Murphy) ruling to see whether barriers to cross-border access merited antitrust scrutiny and possible enforcement action.
Some investigators are now poised to step up their inquiries into whether “absolute territorial protection clauses” break competition law. These stop licensees from selling to other countries or accepting unsolicited demands from overseas customers to pay to access the content.
......
Maurits Dolmans, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, said the 2011 Premier League case concerned satellite sports broadcasting and the court left open whether it could be applied at all to other distribution channels and other forms of content.
“The Commission will have to take into account different economic factors,” he said. “Forcing EU-wide licensing may be attractive for consumers in richer countries, who may pay less, but not necessarily for consumers in poorer countries, who might be forced to pay more.”
Maurits Dolmans, a partner at Cleary Gottlieb, said the 2011 Premier League case concerned satellite sports broadcasting and the court left open whether it could be applied at all to other distribution channels and other forms of content.
“The Commission will have to take into account different economic factors,” he said. “Forcing EU-wide licensing may be attractive for consumers in richer countries, who may pay less, but not necessarily for consumers in poorer countries, who might be forced to pay more.”
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Le policy universitarie in materia di Accesso Aperto alla scienza: l’esperienza dell’Università di Trieste
Seminario, 27 novembre 2013, Università di Trento, qui.
Programma
14.30
Saluti della Rettrice - prof.ssa Daria de Pretis
14.40
Introduzione – prof. Roberto Caso, delegato della Rettrice per l’Open Access e le politiche contro il plagio
15.00
La policy dell’Università di Trieste in materia di accesso aperto – prof. Fabio Benedetti, Presidente della Commissione di Ateneo per l’accesso aperto dell’Università di Trieste
15.30 - 16.00
Dibattito
Programma
14.30
Saluti della Rettrice - prof.ssa Daria de Pretis
14.40
Introduzione – prof. Roberto Caso, delegato della Rettrice per l’Open Access e le politiche contro il plagio
15.00
La policy dell’Università di Trieste in materia di accesso aperto – prof. Fabio Benedetti, Presidente della Commissione di Ateneo per l’accesso aperto dell’Università di Trieste
15.30 - 16.00
Dibattito
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Delivering the Benefits? Efficiencies and Airline Mergers (US Airways-American)
AAI White Paper (D. Moss), here.
India's PM (also) on competition policy
Inaugural address at the 3rd BRICS International Competition Conference, here.
Software patent reform just died in the House, thanks to IBM and Microsoft
Washingtonpost.com, here.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Hidden efficiencies: On the relevance of business justifications in abuse of dominance cases
H. Friederiszick, L. Gratz, here.
Convention 108 with Additional Protocol and Modernisation proposals
CAHDATA, Council of Europe, here.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
The Rise of Innovative Business Models: Content Delivery Methods in the Digital Age
Hearing, Committee on the Judiciary, here.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Study on Intellectual Property and Brain Drain - A Mapping Exercise
WIPO Secreteriat, peer-reviewed by F. Lissoni, here.
Information Resellers - Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace
US Government Accountability Office, here.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Italy: Open Data Action Plan
Department for Public Administration in cooperation with the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID), here.
Content Creation, Access to Information, Open Internet
Workshop, Internet Governance Forum, Transcript here.
La legge italiana sull’accesso aperto agli articoli scientifici: l’inizio di un percorso normativo
R. Caso, P. Galimberti, here.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Friday, November 08, 2013
The quest for behavioural Antitrust. Beyond the label battle, towards a cognitive approach
L. Arnaudo, Agcm Collana "Temi e problemi", qui.
"It's not always fun to live in an authors' rights country"
B. Hugenholtz, Flexing Authors’ Rights, Peter Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property, Video here (from 1:14:16).
"It's not always fun to live in an authors' rights country" at 1:23:38.
Highly recommended, in the following some notes I took:
Who could be against "fair" use in Europe and elsewhere?
A number of historic reasons:
- civil law tradition: the law should be made by the people, the judge should be no more than "la bouche de la loi" (mouthpiece of the law)
- authors' rights: different rationale, constitutions at national level hardly ever mention intellectual property: there to protect authors as a matter of natural justice; exceptions narrowly interpreted. As part of that, the moral rights' tradition.
Broader concerns:
- affecting legal certainty
- opening the floodgates to piracy
- fear of US legal imperialism ("fair US to us")
Legal arguments:
- fair use in conflict with the Berne Convention, with TRIPS
But:
- civil law is already dominated by general principles, and unwritten law also a source of law
- generally, moral rights do not impede the introduction of more flexible norms
- public interest and balancing of rights already part of the discussion
- fair use is not wild, it is fairly predictable, despite being open
- 2010 "Vorschaubilder" case involving thumbnails: German Court looking for ways to justify them, and cooked up a theory of "implied consent." Reasonable solution, but we need more legal certainty.
- three-step test as a safety net
Legal transplants rarely work, but in Europe we need more flexibility, and the European and international legal frameworks do tolerate it (problems exist, but are not insurmountable).
Evidence pointing in the direction of flexibility:
- Recital 2, InfoSoc Directive: "The European Council, meeting at Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, stressed the need to create a general and flexible legal framework at Community level in order to foster the development of the information society in Europe."
Limitations and exceptions (LE) rather loosely circumscribed, rather like prototypes (eg., art. 5(3)(d) InfoSoc Directive: "quotations for purposes such as criticism or review"; (i) incidental inclusion of a work or other subject-matter in other material; (k) use for the purpose of caricature, parody or pastiche; not even the French know what pastiche means...perhaps user generated content?), with ample room for maneuver (Sweden, very broad quotation exception: quote to the extent necessary for the purpose, in accordance with proper uses).
Three-step test not that much of a problem:
- "certain special cases": flexible norms can be reasonably predictable, eg fair use is not all encompassing
"It's not always fun to live in an authors' rights country" at 1:23:38.
Highly recommended, in the following some notes I took:
Who could be against "fair" use in Europe and elsewhere?
A number of historic reasons:
- civil law tradition: the law should be made by the people, the judge should be no more than "la bouche de la loi" (mouthpiece of the law)
- authors' rights: different rationale, constitutions at national level hardly ever mention intellectual property: there to protect authors as a matter of natural justice; exceptions narrowly interpreted. As part of that, the moral rights' tradition.
Broader concerns:
- affecting legal certainty
- opening the floodgates to piracy
- fear of US legal imperialism ("fair US to us")
Legal arguments:
- fair use in conflict with the Berne Convention, with TRIPS
But:
- civil law is already dominated by general principles, and unwritten law also a source of law
- generally, moral rights do not impede the introduction of more flexible norms
- public interest and balancing of rights already part of the discussion
- fair use is not wild, it is fairly predictable, despite being open
- 2010 "Vorschaubilder" case involving thumbnails: German Court looking for ways to justify them, and cooked up a theory of "implied consent." Reasonable solution, but we need more legal certainty.
- three-step test as a safety net
Legal transplants rarely work, but in Europe we need more flexibility, and the European and international legal frameworks do tolerate it (problems exist, but are not insurmountable).
Evidence pointing in the direction of flexibility:
- Recital 2, InfoSoc Directive: "The European Council, meeting at Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, stressed the need to create a general and flexible legal framework at Community level in order to foster the development of the information society in Europe."
Limitations and exceptions (LE) rather loosely circumscribed, rather like prototypes (eg., art. 5(3)(d) InfoSoc Directive: "quotations for purposes such as criticism or review"; (i) incidental inclusion of a work or other subject-matter in other material; (k) use for the purpose of caricature, parody or pastiche; not even the French know what pastiche means...perhaps user generated content?), with ample room for maneuver (Sweden, very broad quotation exception: quote to the extent necessary for the purpose, in accordance with proper uses).
Three-step test not that much of a problem:
- "certain special cases": flexible norms can be reasonably predictable, eg fair use is not all encompassing
- "prejudice the legitimate interests of the rightholder": flexible norms do not necessary prejudice authors' and rightholders' rights
- nobody has ever complained to the WTO about the US fair use rule.
- the Berne three-step conceived against the background of all LE existing at that time, fair use included (US not part of Berne at that time, but future adherence was already part of the picture).
Discussions on flexibilities in the EU
Luckily, the idea of introducing more flexibility is gaining momentum at the EU political level, inspired by the UK and Irish examples among others. Also the Netherlands is forcefully making that point in Europe.
Irish Copyright Review Report suggesting the introduction of some sort of fair use, complementing exiting LE.
Kind of flexibilities that work: two approaches
- Extend existing LE to create more room for maneuver
- the South Korean/Irish approach: flexibility alongside circumscribed LE (civil law) - rule of complementary flexibility; similarly, the Wittem project - European Copyright Code advocating it, at article 5.5:
"Further limitations
Any other use that is comparable to the uses enumerated in art. 5.1 to 5.4(1) is permitted provided that the corresponding requirements of the relevant limitation are met and the use does not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or rightholder, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties."
Who cares about flexibilities in copyright? Everybody is infringing copyright anyway on a daily basis (only speaking for the Netherlands)
Law abiding citizens, and students.
Institutional users (such as libraries) and innovators: chilling effects.
Authors themselves.
Everybody believing in copyright, and Prof. Hugenholtz certainly does: increasing gap between social norms of the people "in Internet" and the law of copyright; social legitimacy of copyright currently under serious threat.
- the Berne three-step conceived against the background of all LE existing at that time, fair use included (US not part of Berne at that time, but future adherence was already part of the picture).
Discussions on flexibilities in the EU
Luckily, the idea of introducing more flexibility is gaining momentum at the EU political level, inspired by the UK and Irish examples among others. Also the Netherlands is forcefully making that point in Europe.
Irish Copyright Review Report suggesting the introduction of some sort of fair use, complementing exiting LE.
Kind of flexibilities that work: two approaches
- Extend existing LE to create more room for maneuver
- the South Korean/Irish approach: flexibility alongside circumscribed LE (civil law) - rule of complementary flexibility; similarly, the Wittem project - European Copyright Code advocating it, at article 5.5:
"Further limitations
Any other use that is comparable to the uses enumerated in art. 5.1 to 5.4(1) is permitted provided that the corresponding requirements of the relevant limitation are met and the use does not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or rightholder, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties."
Who cares about flexibilities in copyright? Everybody is infringing copyright anyway on a daily basis (only speaking for the Netherlands)
Law abiding citizens, and students.
Institutional users (such as libraries) and innovators: chilling effects.
Authors themselves.
Everybody believing in copyright, and Prof. Hugenholtz certainly does: increasing gap between social norms of the people "in Internet" and the law of copyright; social legitimacy of copyright currently under serious threat.
Strategic Underinvestment as an Abuse of Dominance under EU Competition Rules
P. Merlino, G. Faella, here.
Thursday, November 07, 2013
Inspiring Creativity - Promoting Culture and Creative Industries across Europe
European Territorial Cooperation, here.
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Commissioner Michel Barnier welcomes the trilogue agreement on collective rights management
European Commission, Memo here.
Unclear, torturous path for EU ratification of Marrakesh Treaty
Tacd-ip.org, here.
"Maria Martín Prat suggested that new EU copyright legislation proposed sometime in 2014 could incorporate the Marrakesh Treaty and that this might be needed before ratification to harmonize EU member state laws on exceptions to copyright. This proposal that would mean a number years of delay in the ratification of the treaty was criticized by a number of MEPs present. Martin Prat gave as an example of why a new law would be needed the presence of “dyslexic persons” in the Treaty which is not covered by EU copyright exceptions legislation."
Dyslexia not included?!?
"Maria Martín Prat suggested that new EU copyright legislation proposed sometime in 2014 could incorporate the Marrakesh Treaty and that this might be needed before ratification to harmonize EU member state laws on exceptions to copyright. This proposal that would mean a number years of delay in the ratification of the treaty was criticized by a number of MEPs present. Martin Prat gave as an example of why a new law would be needed the presence of “dyslexic persons” in the Treaty which is not covered by EU copyright exceptions legislation."
Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society
Art.5(3)
(b) uses, for the benefit of people with a disability, which are directly related to the disability and of a non-commercial nature, to the extent required by the specific disability;
Ouverture des données publiques. Les exceptions au principe de gratuité sont elles toutes légitimes ?
Rapport ("Trojette") au Ministre, ici.
Informational Hearing on Patent Assertion Entities
B. Love, Testimony, California Assembly Select Committee on High Technology, here.
Monday, November 04, 2013
Seminar: Designing Global Competition Policy Between Co-operation and Convergence
Alessandra Tonazzi, Italian Competition Authority
Mor Bakhoum, Max Planck Institute, Munich
November 15, 2013 - 10.30 am
November 15, 2013 - 10.30 am
Trento University
Department of Economics and Management
Department of Economics and Management
Room 3C
Via Inama, 5—Trento
Via Inama, 5—Trento
The Value of Data: Consequences for Insight, Innovation & Efficiency in the U.S. Economy
J. Deighton, P. Johnson, here.
Seizing the data opportunity - A strategy for UK data capability
Gov.uk, here.
P. 43: "Action: Following the technical review of the published draft legislation, the government will bring into force secondary legislation to enable text and data mining for non-commercial purposes in 2014."
P. 43: "Action: Following the technical review of the published draft legislation, the government will bring into force secondary legislation to enable text and data mining for non-commercial purposes in 2014."
One small step for EU Parliament could prove one giant leap for data protection
UK Information Commissioner's Office, here.
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Does Familiarity Breed Contempt Among Judges Deciding Patent Cases?
M. Lemley, S. Li, and J. Urban, here.
Friday, November 01, 2013
Study on the remuneration of authors and performers for the use of their works and the fixations of their performances
Call for tender, European Commission, here.
"The objective of the study is to provide an assessment of different national approaches and mechanisms to ensure remuneration for authors and performers for the exploitation of their works and performances and to determine whether, and to what extent, the differences that exist among the Member States affect levels of remuneration and the functioning of the internal market."
"The objective of the study is to provide an assessment of different national approaches and mechanisms to ensure remuneration for authors and performers for the exploitation of their works and performances and to determine whether, and to what extent, the differences that exist among the Member States affect levels of remuneration and the functioning of the internal market."
Does EU Competition Policy sufficiently promote companies investment & innovation ?
N. Petit, Presentation here.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Access Copyright lawsuit against York is first test of fair-dealing guidelines
UniversityAffairs.ca, here.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information
McKinsey Global Institute, here.
Improving the Patent System to Promote American Innovation and Competitiveness
US Committee on the Judiciary, here.
Open Data Institute creates 13 'Nodes' around the world
Wired.co.uk, here. Trento (my University town) is one of the "Nodes".
Modernising Copyright
Irish Copyright Review Committee, here. A terrific reading, to be discussed with my "innovation management" students asap.
Copyright Review Committee comprised Dr Eoin O’Dell of Trinity College (Chair), Professor Steve Hedley of University College Cork and Ms Patricia McGovern of DFMG Solicitors.
Incipit "Copyright reform is in the air"
"In the same way as Molière's Monsieur Jourdain spoke prose without realising it, copyright vests even if the author does not realise it", p. 33.
Copyright Review Committee comprised Dr Eoin O’Dell of Trinity College (Chair), Professor Steve Hedley of University College Cork and Ms Patricia McGovern of DFMG Solicitors.
Incipit "Copyright reform is in the air"
"In the same way as Molière's Monsieur Jourdain spoke prose without realising it, copyright vests even if the author does not realise it", p. 33.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Individuazione di criticità concorrenziali nel settore degli appalti pubblici
Vademecum per le stazioni appaltanti, AGCM, qui.
Worldwide Competition Database
Competition Law Center, George Washington University Law School, here.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Bibliotheksverband fordert Gesetzesinitiative zur Gleichstellung von E-Books
Institut für Urheber- und Medienrecht, hìer.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Emerging markets like Brazil, South Africa initiate reforms in patent laws in line with India’s IP policy
Economictimes.indiatimes.com, here.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Turning the Page on Business Formats for Digital Platforms: Does Apple's Agency Model Soften Competition?
Ø. Foros, H. Kind, G. Shaffer, here.
Réponse à la consultation du Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication sur l’Open Data
Open Knowledge Foundation, here.
Proposed EU Data Protection Regulation: Unofficial Text published (single file)
Legalmemory.blogspot.com, here.
Librarians, Distributors Weigh in on Macmillan Ebook Lending | PubCrawl
Lj.libraryjournal.com, here.
Profiting from Free: The Scourge of Online Piracy and How Industry Can Help
A. Keen, sponsored by the Initiative for a Competitive Online Marketplace (ICOMP), here (pdf file).
DOJ and FTC release model confidentiality waiver for international civil matters
Nortonrosefulbright.com, here.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
The Legal Status of Video Games: Comparative Analysis in National Approaches
WIPO Study, A. Ramos, L. Lopez, A. Rodriguez, T. Meng, and S. Abrams, here.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Hotfile on the Internet- What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Your DMCA Safe Harbor
Aaronsanderslaw.com, here.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Patent Challenges for Standard-Setting in the Global Economy: Lessons from Information and Communication Technology
National Academy of Sciences, here (pdf file).
To Infinity And Beyond: Business Model Adaptation In The Video Game Industry
Project-disco.org, here.
Plattformmärkte und vertikale Beschränkungen – insbesondere: Meistbegünstigungsklauseln
D. Zimmer, Präsentation hier.
Do Recruiters "Like" It? Privacy and Online Social Network Profile in Hiring: A Randomized Experiment
M. Manant, S. Pajak, N. Soulié, here.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Saturday, October 12, 2013
A very bad week for tobacco industry opposition to standard packaging
Tobaccounpacked.wordpress.com, here.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Procompetitive regulation of personal data protection in the EU
S. Vezzoso (this blog's author), Presentation here.
Monday, October 07, 2013
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Erst jetzt erfahren...Mein TedTalk über UsedSoft in der FAZ
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 01.07.2013, Nr. 149, S. 22
Für ein Stück vom Software-Kuchen
Usedsoft AG kämpft immer noch gegen Widerstände
magr. FRANKFURT, 30. Juni. Vor zwei Monaten erfuhr der Gebrauchtsoftwarehändler Usedsoft einen Ritterschlag, wie ihn nur das Internet bietet. Im Rahmen der legendären amerikanischen Technikgesprächsreihe "Ted" stellte die italienische Juristin Simonetta Vezzoso die Geschichte von Usedsoft und dessen Gründer Peter Schneider vor - "einen meiner persönlichen Helden", wie Vezzoso bei der Veranstaltung Ende April im norditalienischen Trient sagte. Die Italienerin lehrt an der dortigen Universität Wettbewerbsrecht und präsentierte den Usedsoft-Gründer als einen David, der erfolgreich gegen die Goliaths der globalen Software-Branche gekämpft habe. Der Höhepunkt dieser Auseinandersetzungen liegt inzwischen ein Jahr zurück. Am 3. Juli vergangenen Jahres entschied der Europäische Gerichtshof in einem wegweisenden Verfahren zwischen dem Software-Hersteller Oracle und Schneiders Usedsoft, dass es grundsätzlich erlaubt sei, mit gebrauchter Software zu handeln - und zwar unabhängig davon, ob diese Software auf einem Datenträger, etwa einer CD, gespeichert ist, oder sie der Erstkäufer über das Internet auf seinem Rechner installiert hat. In beiden Fällen erschöpfe sich das sogenannte Verbreitungsrecht des Software-Herstellers - und das macht Computerprogramme eben handelbar. Für Peter Schneider ist dieser Handel ein Jahr nach dem Urteil nach eigenen Angaben wieder ein einträgliches Geschäft. Wie viel er genau damit verdient, nicht mehr verwendete Lizenzen für Office-Pakete oder Betriebssysteme des Software-Hauses Microsoft von Unternehmen aufzukaufen und an andere weiterzuverkaufen, behält Schneider lieber für sich. "Seit Juli vergangenen Jahres hat sich unser Umsatz mehr als verdoppelt, und wir erwirtschaften solide Gewinne", sagt Schneider nur. Auch die Zahl der Käufer wachse wieder. "Vor dem Urteil haben wir drei neue Kunden in der Woche gewonnen, seitdem sind es drei am Tag. Und inzwischen sind wir nahe dran, in Europa 5000 Kunden zu haben." Es kehre Normalität in den Markt ein, "mit Betonung auf einkehren", wie Schneider es ausdrückt. "Wenn der Markt zehn Jahren lang verunsichert war durch lächerliche Gerüchte und Behauptungen, dann kann man sich auch vorstellen, dass das nicht in einem Jahr zu ändern ist." Seit November versucht auch Hans-Olaf Henkel, diese Änderung voranzutreiben. Der ehemalige Vorsitzende des Bundesverbandes der Deutschen Industrie ist zusammen mit dem früheren Siemens-Chef Heinrich von Pierer einer von zwei Verwaltungsräten der in der Schweiz sitzenden Usedsoft AG. Henkel und Pierer überwachen ähnlich einem deutschen Aufsichtsrat das Unternehmen. Nach Henkels Worten versuchen die etablierten Spieler auf dem Software-Markt weiter Usedsoft Barrieren in den Weg zu legen. "Mir sind ein paar Dinge zu Ohren gekommen, die zum Teil groteske Formen annehmen", sagt Henkel. "Es hat zum Beispiel Korrespondenzen zwischen Microsoft und Kunden von Usedsoft gegeben, in denen Microsoft die Briefe von der Abteilung für Software-Piraterie hat unterschreiben lassen. Das ist ein übler Trick, um Kunden vorzugaukeln, dass es sich bei den Lizenzen von Usedsoft um Piraterieprodukte handelt." Ein Microsoft-Sprecher teilt auf Anfrage mit, dass Usedsoft seinen Kunden regelmäßig verschweige, aus welchen Lizenzverträgen die gebraucht gekauften Lizenzen stammen und wer der ursprüngliche Lizenznehmer sei. "Ohne diese Information kann ein Usedsoft-Kunde keinen lückenlosen Lizenznachweis führen. Die Interessen von Microsoft vertritt in solchen Fällen die Anti-Piraterie-Abteilung." Es sei generell frustrierend zu sehen, mit welchen Mitteln Software-Hersteller versuchen, das Geschäft zu behindern, sagt dagegen Usedsoft-Verwaltunsrat Henkel. Doch sei auch zu spüren, dass der Widerstand kleiner werde. Sein Geschäftsführer Schneider glaubt indes nicht, dass Unternehmen wie Microsoft oder auch der Kreativprogrammentwickler Adobe mit Abomodellen für Software dem Handel die Geschäftsgrundlage nehmen könnten. Außerdem machen die neuen Cloud-Geschäftsmodelle "nicht die Milliarden Lizenzen obsolet, die ohnehin schon im Markt vorhanden sind", sagt Schneider. Und mit diesen Lizenzen will er weiter Geld verdienen. Auf seine Adelung als Goliath kann er nach eigenen Angaben übrigens verzichten. "Ich will hier nicht als Robin Hood für Arme berühmt werden und mich auch nicht am Goliath abarbeiten", sagt Schneider. "Ich will einfach nur vom großen Kuchen des Software-Marktes ein Stück abhaben."
Für ein Stück vom Software-Kuchen
Usedsoft AG kämpft immer noch gegen Widerstände
magr. FRANKFURT, 30. Juni. Vor zwei Monaten erfuhr der Gebrauchtsoftwarehändler Usedsoft einen Ritterschlag, wie ihn nur das Internet bietet. Im Rahmen der legendären amerikanischen Technikgesprächsreihe "Ted" stellte die italienische Juristin Simonetta Vezzoso die Geschichte von Usedsoft und dessen Gründer Peter Schneider vor - "einen meiner persönlichen Helden", wie Vezzoso bei der Veranstaltung Ende April im norditalienischen Trient sagte. Die Italienerin lehrt an der dortigen Universität Wettbewerbsrecht und präsentierte den Usedsoft-Gründer als einen David, der erfolgreich gegen die Goliaths der globalen Software-Branche gekämpft habe. Der Höhepunkt dieser Auseinandersetzungen liegt inzwischen ein Jahr zurück. Am 3. Juli vergangenen Jahres entschied der Europäische Gerichtshof in einem wegweisenden Verfahren zwischen dem Software-Hersteller Oracle und Schneiders Usedsoft, dass es grundsätzlich erlaubt sei, mit gebrauchter Software zu handeln - und zwar unabhängig davon, ob diese Software auf einem Datenträger, etwa einer CD, gespeichert ist, oder sie der Erstkäufer über das Internet auf seinem Rechner installiert hat. In beiden Fällen erschöpfe sich das sogenannte Verbreitungsrecht des Software-Herstellers - und das macht Computerprogramme eben handelbar. Für Peter Schneider ist dieser Handel ein Jahr nach dem Urteil nach eigenen Angaben wieder ein einträgliches Geschäft. Wie viel er genau damit verdient, nicht mehr verwendete Lizenzen für Office-Pakete oder Betriebssysteme des Software-Hauses Microsoft von Unternehmen aufzukaufen und an andere weiterzuverkaufen, behält Schneider lieber für sich. "Seit Juli vergangenen Jahres hat sich unser Umsatz mehr als verdoppelt, und wir erwirtschaften solide Gewinne", sagt Schneider nur. Auch die Zahl der Käufer wachse wieder. "Vor dem Urteil haben wir drei neue Kunden in der Woche gewonnen, seitdem sind es drei am Tag. Und inzwischen sind wir nahe dran, in Europa 5000 Kunden zu haben." Es kehre Normalität in den Markt ein, "mit Betonung auf einkehren", wie Schneider es ausdrückt. "Wenn der Markt zehn Jahren lang verunsichert war durch lächerliche Gerüchte und Behauptungen, dann kann man sich auch vorstellen, dass das nicht in einem Jahr zu ändern ist." Seit November versucht auch Hans-Olaf Henkel, diese Änderung voranzutreiben. Der ehemalige Vorsitzende des Bundesverbandes der Deutschen Industrie ist zusammen mit dem früheren Siemens-Chef Heinrich von Pierer einer von zwei Verwaltungsräten der in der Schweiz sitzenden Usedsoft AG. Henkel und Pierer überwachen ähnlich einem deutschen Aufsichtsrat das Unternehmen. Nach Henkels Worten versuchen die etablierten Spieler auf dem Software-Markt weiter Usedsoft Barrieren in den Weg zu legen. "Mir sind ein paar Dinge zu Ohren gekommen, die zum Teil groteske Formen annehmen", sagt Henkel. "Es hat zum Beispiel Korrespondenzen zwischen Microsoft und Kunden von Usedsoft gegeben, in denen Microsoft die Briefe von der Abteilung für Software-Piraterie hat unterschreiben lassen. Das ist ein übler Trick, um Kunden vorzugaukeln, dass es sich bei den Lizenzen von Usedsoft um Piraterieprodukte handelt." Ein Microsoft-Sprecher teilt auf Anfrage mit, dass Usedsoft seinen Kunden regelmäßig verschweige, aus welchen Lizenzverträgen die gebraucht gekauften Lizenzen stammen und wer der ursprüngliche Lizenznehmer sei. "Ohne diese Information kann ein Usedsoft-Kunde keinen lückenlosen Lizenznachweis führen. Die Interessen von Microsoft vertritt in solchen Fällen die Anti-Piraterie-Abteilung." Es sei generell frustrierend zu sehen, mit welchen Mitteln Software-Hersteller versuchen, das Geschäft zu behindern, sagt dagegen Usedsoft-Verwaltunsrat Henkel. Doch sei auch zu spüren, dass der Widerstand kleiner werde. Sein Geschäftsführer Schneider glaubt indes nicht, dass Unternehmen wie Microsoft oder auch der Kreativprogrammentwickler Adobe mit Abomodellen für Software dem Handel die Geschäftsgrundlage nehmen könnten. Außerdem machen die neuen Cloud-Geschäftsmodelle "nicht die Milliarden Lizenzen obsolet, die ohnehin schon im Markt vorhanden sind", sagt Schneider. Und mit diesen Lizenzen will er weiter Geld verdienen. Auf seine Adelung als Goliath kann er nach eigenen Angaben übrigens verzichten. "Ich will hier nicht als Robin Hood für Arme berühmt werden und mich auch nicht am Goliath abarbeiten", sagt Schneider. "Ich will einfach nur vom großen Kuchen des Software-Marktes ein Stück abhaben."
Friday, October 04, 2013
Copyright and Creation - A Case for Promoting Inclusive Online Sharing
B. Cammaerts, R. Mansell, B. Meng, here.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Dutch Minister answers parliamentary questions about copyright and the distribution of e-books
Futureofcopyright.com, here.
Global eBook: Current Conditions & Future Projections
Rüdiger Wischenbart Content and Consulting, here.
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Hotel Online Booking: The OFT announces its intention to accept binding commitments
Kluwercompetitionlawblog.com, here.
New UK competition law landscape begins to take shape with creation of new authority
Edwardswildman.com, here.
Brazil’s patent reform: innovation towards national competitiveness
Chamber of Deputies, Center for Strategic Studies and Debates, here.
UK isolated in Data Protection Regulation discussions; is it a result of NSA shenanigans?
Amberhawk.typepad.com, here.
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Full of amazing panels, you just have to watch them all - over the coming weeks and months, also because they'll even get better with ti... -
M. Vestager, here . Letta Report here . Draghi's Géopolitiques Article here .
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Video soon available here .
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EC, Video here .
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M. Nottingham, here .
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Grüne im Bundestag, Video hier .
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EC, Policy Brief here .