AfterDawn: News

French Appeals Court prohibits DVD Copy Protection devices?

Some French news sources are reporting that the Paris Court of Appeals has granted UFC-Que Choisir (a French consumer protection organization), a prohibition on DVD copy protection devices, because they are incompatible with private copying rights. Two companies, Les Films Alain Sarde and Studio Canal, had originally won this case in August 2004 but have been dealt a major setback with this ruling. UFC-Que Choisir supported a consumer who was unable to copy his Mulholland Drive DVD to a VHS tape to watch at his mothers.

However he was unable to make a copy of his DVD because of Copy Protection. The studios were also grilled about poor consumer information practises, having just the letter "CP" on the DVD to represent Copy Protected. It was in small characters and not sufficiently explicit also. Les Films Alain Sarde and Studio Canal have one month to unblock their DVDs. At the same time, Alain Sarde and Universal Pictures Video France must pay 100 euros in damages to the consumer in question. The same two companies, and Studio Canal, must also pay him 150 euros as well as 1,500 euros to the consumer association.



A request for damages and interest by UFC-Que Choisir against Studio Canal was refused by the court however but the case was not about money for UFC-Que Choisir. The association is delighted with the ruling. But for the delegate general of the Video Producers’ Association, Jean-Yves Mirski, the decision is "worrisome" at least. The VPA has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision to a higher court (the Court of Cassation) but it is far from out of the question. In any case, according to Jean-Yves Mirski, this judicial turn of events "directly contradicts the European Copyright Directive."

Source:
01Net (French)
AllPeers.com (English Translation of original article)

Thanks again to AlienTiger who submitted the news to us using the News Submission form.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 25 Apr 2005 2:22

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• 9 comments

• mystic

  so I take it the French are for alowing you to back up your software... so what they want to do is raise the cost of the media and make it cheaper to buy another then to bootleg it ... hey Ive heard of people using net fix to have them delivered to their houses and burn them and ship them back the same day and I have seen a collection in the excess of 2000dvds sothe copy protection is over and they need to come up with other things to do with this... as long as the new technology has no out put connections their safe but the first chance we get to hook something up to the latest and the greatest then its over.... someone will crack it ... just because.....

  25.4.2005 05:21 #1

• joschez

  That''s some funny stuff

  25.4.2005 10:39 #2

• daemonzx6

  France is one of the only countries that is sensible enough to actually dislike copy protection. And musicians in france actually care about getting their music heard and DON''T want to sue people who downloaded their songs.

  25.4.2005 15:51 #3

• thor999

  and the chicks there are hot... guess I be''s moving to france now... nahh, I''ll just wait for the u.s. to liberate it, then move, then people will dig my big shiny new suv that gets 2 miles to the gallon.

  25.4.2005 22:41 #4

• domie

  "France is one of the only countries that is sensible enough to actually dislike copy protection"
  
  it´s also one of the four countries (along with austria,netherlands and finalnd) that has been actively raiding and shutting down all ed2k servers and forums and bt networks over the past 4 months through police activity supported by record and video industry money.
  
  don´t be fooled into thinking these are nice guys...they are so anal they can´t sit down for fear of sucking up the furniture.

  26.4.2005 14:59 #5

• SiD_UK

  They can sell guns to the iraqi's but just don't copy stuff ok?

  27.4.2005 00:48 #6

• vudoo

  Slap Slap and more bitch slapping to the industry. The ways of the USA will not control the ways of the rest of the world. Someday the US industries will learn the hard way that when the Internet was invented it was for the FREEDOM of INFORMATION and CONTENT. Like it or not there will be people who copy stuff for their own personal use. And just think people rent DVD's in bundles and burn them for themselves. Now if they allow Blockbuster or another company to RENT CD's for say $14/Mo or better yet have a Mp3 DRM less music service for $14.95/Mo all will be right as rain. But no the industry will never hear of that. I'd pay $14.95/Mo for DRM free music that I can copy for my own sheer enjoyment of listening. Thank you and have a nice day.

  27.4.2005 08:59 #7

• c4iscool

  this is the only time I'm saying the french did something right. lol

  27.4.2005 20:09 #8

• WhatUp

  Well it took 300 years for the English to swallow Quebec it was a count of 10 to 1 at the time. This English country became Canada and decided that it was better to have a French Province and staying Canadian and offer to the French Canadian their own law and civil codification in exchange for their help in stoping the USA invasion in Canada (Ontario) at the time High Canada and Low Canada (Ontario and Quebec) this country became because of that Union one of the most envie society in the world notwithstanding what you are saying right now about French if you say France for French fine but not everyone are "France" when you said French like not Everyone are Brits when you said English and not everyone Are Americain when you said North America and for your govern I will gladly defend my Canada against foreign and domestic ennemy like a good USA Patriot will do and don't forget that the Europe got the taste first hand of the 100 years wars and WWI and WWII that could explain their very low enthousiast to go in a war that was doubious at the beginning especialy when the leader in place did not want to admit that it should have took millions of soldier to impose a real peace and democratisation of Irak.
  
  My country that is Canada have send during WWII 1.5 millions of soldier, sailor, airman when we were at the time 10 millions to compose that country I could said that there were not many country that could pretend to the same percentage of their population.
  
  I don't defend France but I will defend French as not a weak caracter I am and my father was a vet and when I look at my previous generation in my family alone I have many one that never came back to defend what was the "good" war, give us a good war and we will go in a heart beat don't give us "BS" and after saying something else.
  
  On that I hope you could see that I am French and still an alies of USA and NATO and I mean that and if USA go for the "good" war like WWI and WWII I will glady lay my life with my brother in arms but not for a joke meaning give the real fact and you will get real people.
  
  Have a nice day from a "French" Canadian.

  25.5.2005 14:45 #9