Why I Copyfight, en Francais -- in honor of the new French copying law

Eric Moreau has translated my Locus column Why I Copyfight into French, in honor of the bill in French Parliament that will criminalize copyists and downloaders.

Pourquoi accorder tant d'importance à la question de la réforme du copyright ? Qu'est-ce qui est en jeu ?
Tout.
Jusqu'à une époque récente, le copyright était une réglementation industrielle. Si l'on tombait dans le domaine du copyright, cela signifiait que l'on utilisait quelque prodigieuse machine industrielle – une presse d'imprimerie, une caméra de cinéma, une presse à disques vinyles. Le coût d'un tel équipement étant conséquent, y ajouter deux cents billets pour s'offrir les services d'un bon avocat du droit de la propriété intellectuelle n'avait rien d'un sacrifice. Ces frais n'ajoutaient que quelques points de pourcentage au coût de production.
Lorsque des entités n'appartenant pas une industrie (individus, écoles, congrégations religieuses, etc.) interagissaient avec des œuvres soumises au copyright, l'utilisation qu'elles en avaient n'était pas régie par le droit de la propriété intellectuelle : elles lisaient des livres, écoutaient de la musique, chantaient autour du piano ou allaient au cinéma. Elles discutaient de ces œuvres. Elles les chantaient sous la douche. Les racontaient (avec des variations) aux enfants à l'heure du coucher. Les citaient. Peignaient des fresques inspirées de ces œuvres sur le mur de la chambre des enfants.

Petit précis de lutte contre le copyright par Cory Doctorow

Previously:

Why I Copyfight - Boing Boing

Discussion

Take a look at this

#1 posted by teddanson, March 10, 2009 3:09 AM

I think you mean "en Francais".

#2 posted by teddanson, March 10, 2009 3:10 AM

#3 posted by teddanson, March 10, 2009 3:16 AM

I think I meant to post only once, sorry.

#4 posted by Cefeida, March 10, 2009 4:09 AM

And maybe you meant to replace the 'c' with a 'ç' too? ;)

#5 posted by Anonymous, March 10, 2009 8:24 AM

Have you noticed the DVD's disclaimer text in FRENCH (check Sony DVDs) is the only one that allows "a copy for the private use of the owner". Something I agree.

Why does the french text grant more copyright 'freedom' than the ones in other languages?

#6 posted by Anonymous, March 10, 2009 8:35 AM

#7 posted by DonRico, March 10, 2009 10:45 AM

Hi all,

Thanks for the post and link, we at framablog are honored to be on the BoingBoing homepage.

You may not know it, but a bill about copying is about to be passed in France. Its goal is to get the web policed by private companies that will invade our privacy and crush our civil liberties in order to enforce copyright laws. No need to say who is pulling the strings here.

Since the mainstream press is France is our gouvernment's puppy (you may think it's China, but no, this is Europe, Bush-era style), and even though we're hundreds of thousands of Web users and citizens against this bill, the average Frenchman isn't well informed about it (because of music labels and governement propaganda), and the opposition is hushed and mocked.

So if you're a blogger, a journalist or if you know one, we could use a little international support !

Cheers,

Eric Moreau, translator of the article, open source and free culture blogger

PS : by the way, it's "Why I Copyfight en français" ;-)

#8 posted by zo, March 10, 2009 11:55 AM

I'm an expat in France.. can anyone tell more about the status of this law? I've been hearing so many things that I'm never really sure where it's at

thanks

and thank you Cory

#9 posted by arkizzle, March 10, 2009 12:13 PM

Resista, like it or not (hyperbole, or not) Bush's policies and actions have had a far reaching effect on other countries' notions of how to fuck with their citizens.

Did you think his name would disappear when he left office? Has everything been made right yet? Similarly, are Marx and Keynes not still held up, their ideas and influence debated, long after their lives had past?

Bush will be with us a long time yet.

#10 posted by Alkwerte, March 10, 2009 12:29 PM

And we don't have the right to parody "la marseillaise" in a movie or in a song, or to say anything friendly about Cannabis.
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

#11 posted by DonRico, March 10, 2009 3:44 PM

@resista : sorry you misunderstood the French guy.
I don't blame Bush for my country's policies, that was just to give an example of how they proceed here, that is to say "quite dumbly". I could have written Thatcher-style or Putin-style ...

@alkwerte : you can parody La Marseillaise as much as you want. It's under public domain ;-). Serge Gainsbourg, a French singer, dit it himself in the 80s in his song "Aux armes, etc." (To arms, and so on... based on the anthem chorus lyrics)

#12 posted by Ugly Canuck, March 10, 2009 3:45 PM

hey Americans can still give their input: DMCA Noice of request for Comments re: copyright circumvention:

http://cryptome.com/0001/co030909.htm

Good old cryptome, doing the job of the NYT....

PS Check especially re: NYPD spy agency!

#13 posted by DonRico, March 11, 2009 1:44 AM

@ZO : the bill is fully detailed here :
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/03/french-anti-p2p-law-toughest-in-the-world.ars