Music Blogs

The French Senate, the upper chamber in the country's parliament, has approved the much previously reported 'Creation And Internet' law with very little opposition and few amendments.

This is the new legal framework that will, amongst other things, introduce the previously reported 'three-strike' system in a bid to combat online piracy. Under this system people suspected of illegally accessing music online will be sent warning letters telling them to stop - similar to the system already introduced over here thanks to that memorandum of understanding between record label trade body the BPI and six internet service providers, though in France the letters will be sent by an independent government-backed body rather than the ISPs themselves.

The French system will also go further than the warning letter programme over here in that those who continue to access illegal music will receive a second letter, by registered post, and if they continue to use dodgy download services after that their ISP will be ordered to cut them off. Their name will then be added to a black-list barring them from subscribing to other net providers.

The three-strike proposal has caused much debate in France and beyond since it was first mooted by French political types last year, with net firms understandably nervous of a system which requires them to cut off what could be good paying customers (well, good to them if not to content owners). However, in the end there wasn't all that much debate about the proposals, or other parts of the Creation And Internet law, and the whole thing was passed within 24 hours, 297 votes in favour to 15 against.

The new laws also make some demands on the music business, in particular forcing the record companies to abandon digital rights management technology and to reach an agreement to ensure the interoperability of music files between rival devices. In some ways those demands are less drastic than they would have been this time last year, given that all the major record companies are now selling their music in DRM-free MP3 formats, though it's not clear if the no-DRM laws would impact on newer bulk-buy and all-you-can-eat subscription services like those operated in France by Orange and recently launched over here by Nokia, both of which rely on DRM.

The new rules may also force French owned Universal to make its DRM-free music available to Apple's iTunes - so far they have refused to do so, reportedly in a bid to give other MP3 services the chance to better compete with the market leader download store. On the flip side, the laws may make demands on Apple too, who, even in the DRM-free domain, sell music in less interoperable AAC formats, which do not work on all digital music players, and therefore still lock iTunes users to iPods to a certain extent. Apple have not responded well to past threats by the French government to force them into offering a more interoperable service, it remains to be seen how they respond to these laws.

It should be noted that none of this is actually law until it has passed through the lower house of the French parliament, who are expected to discuss the proposals in January. That said, these laws are a high priority for the French government and if they fall over at National Assembly stage, they will pass them onto a special commission to get them through. There have, as previously reported, been concerns that the proposed laws will contravene European rules regarding the rights of internet users, though French ministers seem confident that isn't so.

Should the three-strike system become law in France it could have an impact on other countries where the music business is busy trying to find more effective ways to tackle illegal file sharing, including the US and Germany where the 'sue the fans' system is still used despite it being widely regarded as counter-productive. The Australian government has also previously said they would watch the French system closely to see how and if it works.

Here in the UK there was much talk of a three-strike rule being introduced when the government indicated it would follow the French lead and legislate in this area if the ISPs wouldn't voluntarily take on a more proactive role in combating file sharing. The BPI has previously distanced itself from the three-strike system, saying it's not the only proposal on the table, and the ISPs who signed the aforementioned memo of understanding with the record companies have been keen to stress they have not agreed to cut off file sharing customers.

The existence of the MoU may mean the UK government doesn't have to act at all on this, but the issue remains - whether it be dealt with through new laws or voluntary agreement - of what you do to people who are accessing unlicensed music online and who ignore written warnings that what they are doing is illegal. I think the UK government, music industry and ISPs will be watching the French system with interest also.

-- from today's CMU Daily, www.cmudaily.co.uk