Andre Yoskowitz
27 Mar 2007 21:59
This week, APRIL (l'Association pour la Promotion et la Recherche en Informatique Libre) has brought an case before the French Supreme court requesting an annulment of a decree that "introduces a maximum €750 fine for possession and use of DRM circumvention technologies". If the action fails, the decree would be introduced into the French Copyright laws as article R 335-3.
APRIL's argument is that being fined for merely possessing an anti-DRM device/program "imposes an unfair and disproportionate threat on users of open source software and the whole movement of open source software."
In their argument for the anulment of the decree APRIL has cited Article 6-1 of the EUCD, “Member States shall provide adequate legal protection against the circumvention of any effective technological measures, which the person concerned carries out in the knowledge, or with reasonable grounds to know, that he or she is pursuing that objective.” They also point out that “in the knowledge or with reasonable grounds to know, that he or she is pursuing that objective” should be punished is not in that decree.
APRIL also feels that the fines would breach the right to interoperability and provide legal uncertainty for open source software.
Source:
Slyck