You have the right to watch what we let you watch, when we let you
“This [WIPO] treaty would undermine many of the public’s rights under the copyright laws of most countries in the world. In the U.S., for example, it would eliminate the public’s rights, established by law since 1984 (though already somewhat curtailed by legislation), to make recordings of broadcasts without the permission of a broadcaster. Indeed, the treaty text is a direct attack on home recording and the public’s rights in recordings of broadcast programming.”
The European Community has proposed a new World Intellectual Property Organization treaty which would make the “broadcast flag” that is currently being pushed by the MPAA (read more about that here and here) law all over the world, or at least in every country that is a member of WIPO. This would effectively bypass the current fight by consumer and civil liberties groups (and, fortunately, hardware manufacturers) that is going on in the U.S. and other countries to stop the media giants from taking away the rights viewers currently enjoy.
Read the story here.
