machine-envy

The House of Commons have started debating Gordon Brown’s speech and the Gowers Review has been published online. Here it is.
I’m reading over it now. Eye-catching recommendations include:

tougher penalties for online copyright infringement - with a maximum 10 years imprisonment
consulting on the use of civil damages as a deterrent for IP infringement
business representatives sit on […]

Gordon Brown has so far made a few mentions of intellectual property in his pre budget speech, stating that a “robust intellectual property regime” was needed to encourage innovation in the UK, vital to the UK’s competitiveness in the global marketplace. He has stated that the Secretary for Industry (Alistair Darling) will announce tighter penalties […]

I’m logged on to the BBC Parliament channel this morning, awaiting Gordon Brown’s pre budget report, which should start in 15 minutes. The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property will be released after this speech.
As a precursor to the report, my column in openDemocracy asks whether the government will go with Gowers’ leaked recommendation, that copyright […]

Stef Magdalinski got in touch to let me know that following my NS piece about MPs playing the system on TheyWorkForYou.com, he was invited to go head to head with Emily Thornberry MP on BBC Radio 4’s Today in Parliament. Steve Bowbrick has the mp3.
This week’s NS column is on e-voting, with a mini-interview from […]

Ahead of its official launch after next week’s pre-budget speech (12.30, Wednesday 6 December, economy fans) the BBC is reporting that the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property will recommend that copyright terms on sound recordings should not be extended.
Boingboing may be reporting this as a victory, but the battle isn’t over yet. The government will […]

A little story that might be of interest to the “Piracy funds terrorism” crowd…
BBC news reports allegations today against Silvio Berlusconi and his lawyer David Mills that Mills, the estranged husband of UK Culture secretary Tessa Jowell, set up a network of offshore companies for the former Italian prime minister:
“Prosecutors say these offshore companies were […]

In all likelihood, the Gowers Review of intellectual property is already written. But, as it bounces between government departments for consultation, what it is going to say is still very much up for grabs. Which makes it all the more important, if you believe copyright in sound recordings shouldn’t be extended from 50 to 95 […]

Missed this news when it broke last month, but intrigued to hear today that Google has inaugurated it’s own political action committee (PAC) to support candidates seeking electoral office in the United States. According to Google’s chief communications bod Ricardo Reyes, Google will use the PAC to lobby on issues such as net neutrality. This […]

This fortnight’s article for openDemocracy continues on a theme:
“My column a fortnight ago (”Claiming our digital rights”, 26 September 2006) sparked a train of thought that hasn’t stopped chugging through my brain since. The piece was a celebration of the imminent victory over that most unsuitable of technologies, digital rights management, but sounded a note […]

My new column for openDemocracy comes ahead of international Day Against DRM (next Tuesday), and starts a thread of thought I want to pursue further - should we fight for our digital rights as “consumers” or “citizens”? I had an interesting conversation over coffee with someone who could be described as a veteran political insider […]