Viewing cable 09PARIS1267, HADOPI 2: French Assembly Approves Internet Piracy

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TAGS: ECON EINDETRD KIPR PREL FR
SUBJECT: HADOPI 2: French Assembly Approves Internet Piracy 
Sanctions Bill 

Ref: Paris 559 

¶1. On September 15, the French National Assembly approved the 
sanctions' portion of the GOF's disputed Internet piracy law by 285 
votes in favor and 225 against (including some members of the UMP 
majority party. Nicknamed "Hadopi 2," this draft bill complements 
the law "Creation and the Internet" passed in June (Hadopi 
1)(Reftel). Hadopi 2 provides for two written warnings and then 
suspension of internet access by a judge. A joint parliamentarian 
committee will hold a final vote on the bill on September 22. 

¶2. The Socialist Party has already announced that it will challenge 
Hadopi 2 in front of the Constitutional Council, notably because 
they believe the bill's ordonnance pnale deprives potential 
offenders of the ability to defend themselves properly. Record 
companies, film producers and artists have supported the 
government's bid to crack down on Internet piracy. Recording 
industry organization SNEP estimates that it has destroyed 50 
percent of the value of the French recorded music market in six 
years. Other French organizations representing major and 
independent labels, songwriters and publishers noted that the new 
legislation "should put an end to years of laissez-faire resulting 
in a sharp erosion of their income." The original Hadopi 1 bill 
includes an elaborate system of sanctions devised to that effect and 
ranges from a 1,500-euro fine and a month-long suspension for 
allowing a third party to pirate music or films using their web 
connection, to 300,000 euros in fines and three years imprisonment 
for counterfeiters. 

¶3. French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who pushed for this 
bill last summer, stressed that artists would "remember that we had 
the political courage to finally break the laissez-faire attitude, 
and to protect their rights from those who want to turn the Internet 
into a ground for their libertarian utopia." Last week, Mitterand 
announced he would submit a bill (Hadopi 3) to improve online legal 
offerings by the end of the year. "By then, Hadopi 1 and 2 will be 
operational," he said. Mitterand appointed Patrick Zelnik, CEO of 
French independent label Naove, which produces Carla Bruni's music, 
to develop the Hadopi 3 proposals. In the meantime, "Parti Pirate," 
the first French affiliate of Piracy Pirate International, will 
present a candidate in the September 20 interim election for a 
vacant seat in the National Assembly. 

RIVKIN