Hello all,
The EDRI-gram this week (http://www.edri.org/edrigram) has an interesting
list of digital civil rights events in Europe in 2013:
27-30 December 2012, Hamburg, Germany
29C3 - Chaos Communication Congress
http://events.ccc.de/category/29c3/
20-23 January 2013, Brussels, Belgium
The Power of Information - How Science and Technology can Make a Difference
http://www.ThePowerofInformation.eu
23-25 January 2013, Brussels, Belgium
CPDP 2013 Conference - Reloading data protection
http://www.cpdpconferences.org
2-3 February 2013, Brussels, Belgium
FOSDEM
https://fosdem.org/2013/
14-15 February 2013, Vienna, Austria
Internet 2013 - Shaping policies to advance media freedom
http://www.osce.org/event/internet2013
22 February 2013, Warsaw, Poland
ePSIplatform Conference: "Gotcha! Getting everyone on board"
http://epsiplatform.eu/content/save-date-22-february-2013-epsiplatform-conf…
21-22 March 2013, Malta
Online Privacy: Consenting to your Future
http://www.onlineprivacyconference.eu/
6-8 May 2013, Berlin, Germany
re:publica 2013
http://www.re-publica.de
6-7 June 2012, Lisbon, Portugal
EuroDIG 2013
Proposals by 31 December 2012
http://www.eurodig.org/important/call-for-issues-and-proposals
25-26 June 2013, Barcelona, Spain
9th International Conference on Internet Law & Politics: Big Data:
Challenges and Opportunities.
http://edcp.uoc.edu/symposia/idp2013/?lang=en
31 July – 4 August 2013, Geestmerambacht, Netherlands
Observe. Hack. Make. - OHM2013
https://ohm2013.org/
24-27 September 2013, Warsaw, Poland
Public Voice Conference 2013 35th International Data Protection and Privacy
Commissioners conference
http://www.giodo.gov.pl/
--
Stephen LaPorte
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
*For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia
Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer
for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal
capacity.*
[Was: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Internal-l] Israeli Government to Release its
images under a free license for public use]
Hello Pine,
A number of possible freedom of panorama initiatives are being discussed
here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama_campaignThese
proposals are not being led by the WMF itself because there are
strict regulations on how a tax-exempt nonprofit organization may engage in
legislative activism.
The Wikimedia community has many creative ideas. Here are the proposals
under discussion on Commons:
* Write a convincing rationale for why FoP is a good thing
* Petition
* US chapters lobby Congress
* Set-up an umbrella lobbying organization
* Geotargeted CentralNotice banner
* Identify allies (was: "Talk to Google")
* Identify educational audience for these photos
* Sample offline Wikipedias with Kiwix offline reader that need photos
* Summary FoP law table
* Proposed wording
* Short and long term goals
* Baby step: state-level arts grants
* Identify violations
* Throw our toys out of the pram
* Lead by example
* Guerilla art campaign
Which do you think would be the most effective?
Best,
Stephen
On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:39 PM, ENWP Pine <deyntestiss(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
> Good!
>
> To the WMF folks, is WMF doing any advocacy of its own regarding FOP in
> the US?
>
> Pine
>
--
Stephen LaPorte
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
*For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia
Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer
for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal
capacity.*
Hello,
We really miss in this list:
* EU chapters lobby European Parliament
On my way home from a Creative Commons meeting recently, I spoke with someone from Google. That person is active in Brussels to lobby for their interest. We really miss an office in Brussels.
And concerning FoP, we are currently working on founding a chapter in Belgium, and one of its goals is getting FoP in Belgium. Also Wikimedia France is very active that subject.
Greetings from Europe,
Romaine
> Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:21:12 -0800
> From: Stephen LaPorte <slaporte(a)wikimedia.org>
> To: Advocacy Advisory Group for WMF LCA
> <advocacy_advisors(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: [Advocacy Advisors] Freedom of Panorama
> Message-ID:
> <CABMv6ma6caT=j5XvH+PAXNv9m0KTqoDKh1T1XLADyGq_GKLpOg(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> [Was: [Wikimedia-l] Fwd: [Internal-l] Israeli Government to
> Release its
> images under a free license for public use]
>
> Hello Pine,
>
> A number of possible freedom of panorama initiatives are
> being discussed
> here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Freedom_of_panorama_campaignThese
> proposals are not being led by the WMF itself because there
> are
> strict regulations on how a tax-exempt nonprofit
> organization may engage in
> legislative activism.
>
> The Wikimedia community has many creative ideas. Here are
> the proposals
> under discussion on Commons:
>
> * Write a convincing rationale for why FoP is a good thing
> * Petition
> * US chapters lobby Congress
> * Set-up an umbrella lobbying organization
> * Geotargeted CentralNotice banner
> * Identify allies (was: "Talk to Google")
> * Identify educational audience for these photos
> * Sample offline Wikipedias with Kiwix offline reader that
> need photos
> * Summary FoP law table
> * Proposed wording
> * Short and long term goals
> * Baby step: state-level arts grants
> * Identify violations
> * Throw our toys out of the pram
> * Lead by example
> * Guerilla art campaign
>
> Which do you think would be the most effective?
>
> Best,
> Stephen
>
> On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 1:39 PM, ENWP Pine <deyntestiss(a)hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Good!
> >
> > To the WMF folks, is WMF doing any advocacy of its own
> regarding FOP in
> > the US?
> >
> > Pine
> >
>
> --
> Stephen LaPorte
> Legal Counsel
> Wikimedia Foundation
>
> *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the
> Wikimedia
> Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or
> serve as a lawyer
> for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their
> personal
> capacity.*
(...)
cross-posting
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Tomer Ashur <tomerashur(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 1:27 PM
Subject: [Internal-l] Israeli Government to Release its images under a free
license for public use
To: "Local Chapters, board and officers coordination (closed subscription)"
<internal-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Hi all,
I am very proud to announce that Wikimedia Israel just won one of its main
struggles. The Israeli government has announced[1] that all imaged in which
the state is the copyrights holder and that were uploaded to the
government's websites can be freely used with the following restrictions:
1. The image will be attributed to the state of Israel (or the relevant
office)
2. The user cannot change the license (Share-alike)
3. No derivative work.
4. Each office will create a policy about commercial use (i.e., commercial
use is allowed, unless otherwise specified).
Wikimedia Israel has pushed for this change since 2010, when MK Meir
Sheetrit proposed an amendment for the Israeli copyright act. The chapter
pushed for the acceptance of this amendment by the Knesset (the Israeli
parliament). During this time, we were able to make a complete shift in the
paradigms employed by the government and government officials. From being
strong opposers to the bill, they become adopters of the changes, thus
making the bill itself, redundant.
Now, a new struggle begins - Wikimedia Israel will work to remove the ND
clause from the decision, and will make sure that all government offices
publish their policy as required. Nonetheless, this is still a huge
achievement, the government has accepted the importance of free culture in
modern world.
On a personal note, as the leader of this project, I wish to send my many
thanks to all of those who made this miracle happen. A special thanks is
due to the great people of the Israeli Internet society, the (just as
great) people of Creative commons Israel, Adv. Jonathan Klinger, Mathias
Schindler, the awsome volunteers of Wikimedia Israel and the editors of
Hebrew Wikipedia. If there's anyone I forgot by name - my apologies, I'm
still terribly excited of these news.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here or send me a private
email,
Tomer Ashur
Chairman
Wikimedia Israel
[1] http://www.pmo.gov.il/Secretary/GovDecisions/2012/Pages/des5268.aspx
_______________________________________________
Internal-l mailing list
Internal-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/internal-l
Greetings,
a while ago, Wikimedia Israel triggered legislative efforts regarding
the licencing of state works (see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_text_copyright for international
implementations).
>From what I heard from WMIL, the issue went back and forth in
committees and indeed copyright law was changed. Official works remain
subject to copyright but non-commercial usage is permitted with a few
more restrictions.
Here is my question to you: Are there other chapters with similar
involvement in national copyright debates, especially when it comes to
Official Works, Public Sector Information, etc.?
Feel free to reply on the mailing lists or directly to
mathias.schindler(a)wikimedia.de
Pointers to blogs, briefs, laws, parliament databases are very much appreciated.
Mathias
--
Mathias Schindler
Projektmanager
Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
web: http://www.wikimedia.de
mail: mathias.schindler(a)wikimedia.de
jabber: mathias.schindler(a)gmail.com
Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch freien Zugang zu
der Gesamtheit des Wissens der Menschheit hat. Helfen Sie uns dabei!
http://spenden.wikimedia.de/
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts
Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig
anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin,
Steuernummer 27/681/51985.
Hello all,
Yesterday the commission published the long expected press release
(attached) announcing the launch of stakeholder dialogue to reform
copyright legislation.
The plan is to have discussions and positions reviewed and exchanged in
2013 and adopt new legislation in 2014. There will be three commissioners
working jointly on this project:
Michel Barnier (Internal Market)
Neelie Kroes (Digital)
Androulla Vassiliou (Culture)
I am today invited to a discussion with Michael Barnier and some MEPs from
the European People's Party (I am currently training in interest
representation in Brussels, but I am also a member of Wikimedia Austria
since I studied in Vienna). I will try to keep an eye on everything that is
going on in Brussels regarding these reform plans as I believe we
(Wikimedia) should be part of the dialogue. I am also proposing to WMAT to
register in the EU Transparency Register so we can get easier access to
first hand information and invitation to join discussions and meet with
decision makers. WMDE and WMI are already registered, but have nobody in
Brussels.
A report on today's discussion to come. A more interesting year to follow.
Regards,
Dimi
Hi Stephen,
Can you clarify what kinds of questions or feedback you are seeking in regards to posts that you make to the Advocacy Advisers list? While I find the information useful and interesting, I'm not sure what discussion or feedback would be useful to WMF.
Thanks,
Pine
Hello all,
On Friday, the Republican Study Committee released a policy brief on "Three
Myths about Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix it". The paper
discusses four potential policy solutions: (1) reform statutory damages;
(2) expand fair use; (3) punish false copyright claims; and, (4) limit
copyright terms and have heavy disincentives for renewal.
A copy of the report is attached, and "Infringement Nation" (Tehranian
2007) is available here:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1029151
On Saturday, the executive director of the RSC sent out a letter
withdrawing the brief:
From: Teller, Paul
Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 04:11 PM
Subject: RSC Copyright PB
We at the RSC take pride in providing informative analysis of major policy
issues and pending legislation that accounts for the range of perspectives
held by RSC Members and within the conservative community. Yesterday you
received a Policy Brief on copyright law that was published without
adequate review within the RSC and failed to meet that standard. Copyright
reform would have far-reaching impacts, so it is incredibly important that
it be approached with all facts and viewpoints in hand. As the RSC’s
Executive Director, I apologize and take full responsibility for this
oversight. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and a meaningful Thanksgiving
holiday....
Paul S. Teller
Executive Director
U.S. House Republican Study Committee
Paul.Teller(a)mail.house.gov
http://republicanstudycommittee.com
More coverage:
* http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84018.html?hp=r5
*
http://www.volokh.com/2012/11/16/republicans-repudiate-40-years-of-tougher-…
*
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121116/16481921080/house-republicans-cop…
Best,
Stephen
--
*For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia
Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer
for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal
capacity.*
Google updated their transparency report, showing an increase in government
requests in January-June 2012. They report 1,791 requests to remove content
(from 1,048 in the last half of 2011) and 20,938 requests to disclose user
data (from 18,257 in the last half of 2011).
Announcement:
http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/11/transparency-report-government-reques…
The full report: http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/
--
Stephen LaPorte
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
*For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia
Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer
for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal
capacity.*
Dear Stephen:
Thank you for your requests and the information you have been sending.
It is deeply appreciated. I agree with the Italian and Philippines'
protest, and I wonder why the protest in Russia is not much stronger.
What if someone asked Putin about specific instances of blacklist
leakages and the scandals which resulted from those? In any case, I
have several more questions:
Does the Foundation intend to take a position on the Bradley Manning
case? A plea of not guilty for lack of scienter is unavailable in
military court. Does the Foundation support his attempt to enter that
plea? Does the Foundation believe that Manning's likely conclusion
given the evidence available to him was that he was upholding the
spirit of the law while deliberately violating the letter? Does the
Foundation support Manning's motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy
trial?
Will the Foundation please ask the Secretary of Defense to declare
that patents which adversely affect national security including the
security inherent in computer programming education as necessary to
perform computer security audits must be available under reasonable
and non-discriminatory license terms?
Will the Foundation please support pro-education policies such as
class size reduction, pay equality by increased pay for women, tuition
subsidies for gross fixed capital formation, and evaluation of
publication impact by readership as well as reputation?
Will the Foundation please support general devolution of power to
people equally? For example: http://j.mp/amendmentact
Best regards,
James Salsman
On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Stephen LaPorte <slaporte(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
> The BBC has a story on the law that the Russian Wikipedia community
> protested:
>
> If the websites themselves cannot be shut down, internet service providers
> (ISPs) and web hosting companies can be forced to block access to the
> offending material.
>
> The list of banned website will be managed by Roskomnadzor (Russia's Federal
> Service for Supervision in Telecommunications, Information Technology and
> Mass Communications). It is meant to be updated daily, but its contents are
> not available to the general public.
>
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20096274