French anti-piracy law delayed

Valerie | 24 Jul 2009, 16:04

A vote on the controversial French anti-piracy law has been postponed until September. The bill, known by its acronym Hadopi II, has undergone a number of amendments but has been delayed due to a lack of available time to examine the bill before the summer break. 

The bill has been substantially watered-down, largely as a result of opposition from the French Socialist Party, including a restriction to the sanctions that can be brought against offenders, and the removal of a ‘creative contribution’ which would have amounted to a surcharge of $2.80 (€2) for internet users, apparently intended to benefit artists.

While this does not impact on the eventual introduction of the law, the delay is another blow for a project that was first launched two years ago.

The French music industry has greeted the news with disappointment. In a statement, trade body SNEP, lamented that “once again, rights holders are hostages of some deputies’ political manoeuvres,“ and reiterated its call for clear “rules of the game.“

In a statement expressing its “great disappointment and genuine anger” on the vote deferment, SACEM the society for authors, composers and publishers, echoed SNEP’s frustration: “At the end of this process, it will be important to assess the scope of the text and engage an essential debate on the funding of music and remuneration for rights holders, authors, composers and publishers having fully suffered the consequences of this crisis without having benefited in the least from any measures of support, whether on a national or a European level.“

The law will take a three-step to illegal downloaders, who will receive an email in the first instance, followed by a letter and finally, if they continue to offend, their home internet connection will be cut for a period of up to a year.

Frederic Mitterrand, the county’s new Culture Minister, called in ministers not to allow pirates to “drag culture into the gutter”.