The European Community Council has adopted the legislation on the protection of encrypted services without debate. The press release issued on November 09 by the Council outlines the situation. It is now only a matter of time before the publication of the Directive in the EU Official Journal. With the publication of the Directive in the Official Journal, the Member states of the European Union have eighteen months to integrate the legislation with their national legal framework. For most commercial pirates, this is the wakeup call.
The following text is the press release from the European Union Council on the decision to adopt the legislation without debate. The full legislation will be posted in the next update.
2130. Council - INTERNAL MARKET
Press Release: Brussels (09-11-1998) - Nr. 12562/98 (Presse 371)
OTHER DECISIONS
Adopted without debate. In the case of legislative acts, abstentions or
votes against are indicated. Decisions containing statements which the
Council has decided to release to the public are marked with an asterisk
(*); the statements in question are obtainable from the Press Service.
INTERNAL MARKET
Legal protection of services based on, or consisting of, conditional
access
The Council adopted the Directive concerning the legal protection of
services based on, or consisting of, conditional access. The European
Parliament, in second reading, had approved the Council's common
position of 29 June 1998 with two amendments, both of which were
accepted by the Commission and the Council.
The objective of the Directive is the approximation of provisions in the
Member States concerning measures against illicit devices which give
unauthorized access to protected services.
Its core provision is that Member States shall prohibit on their
territory
- the manufacture, import, distribution, sale, rental or possession
for commercial purposes of illicit devices;
- the installation, maintenance or replacement for commercial
purposes of an illicit device;
- promotional activities relating to illicit devices.
Member States shall put in place sanctions and remedies which are
effective, deterrent and proportional to the potential impact of the
infringing activity. They shall also take the necessary measures to
ensure that providers of protected services whose interests are affected
by an infringing activity, have access
to appropriate remedies, such as an action for damages, an injunction or
other preventive measure, and where appropriate, the destruction of
illicit devices.
Without prejudice to these obligations, Member States may not restrict
the provision of protected services, or associated services, that
originate in another Member State nor restrict the free movement of
Conditional Access devices.
Member States will have 18 months after the date of publication of the
Directive to transpose its provisions into national law.
The Directive was drafted in response to a wide-ranging process of
consultation on the Commission Green Paper entitled "Legal Protection of
Encrypted Services in the Internal Market" and seeks to harmonise the
legal protection (and therefore combat piracy) of a very broad range of
services which are characterized by the fact that access to the service
at a distance is made conditional upon a prior authorization that aims
at ensuring the remuneration of the service. The Directive covers all
services such as pay-TV, video-on-demand, audio-on-demand and electronic
publishing whose remuneration - and often their viability - depends on
"conditional access" techniques such as encryption and electronic locks.
