The Copyright Enforcement Enigma: Internet Politics and the 'Telecoms Package'

by Monica Horten

'...a must read for those interested in knowing in depth about copyright enforcement and Internet.' -Journal of Intellectual Property Rights.

If you've enjoyed iptegrity.com, I hope you will also like my book. It has a different style, and it does a different job. In the book, you get an intricately-researched account of the development of copyright enforcement policy in Europe in the 21st century, notably the French Hadopi law and the very strange Telecoms Package events.

Why is copyright enforcement an enigma? The book begins with a discussion of copyright, it ends with a diiscussion of due process, and in the middle is the Internet and a political story about telecoms law. I get the feeling the the policy-makers involved did not really understand what was happening to them, and I still see many people struggling with the whole notion of how you would do copyright enforcement in the Internet environment. The book explains why you would change telecoms law if you want to enforce copyright on the Internet, and signals some of the concerns that such changes would raise.

When I started writing the book, it felt like I had gone on a long, intellectual journey, and I wanted to take the reader with me. That's why I began by investigating the history of copyright enforcement, and why I analysed the contemporary policy context before I even started writing up the specifics of the Telecoms Package. It took me almost 5 years to write and underwent several re-writes to get the text just so. Every point is substantiated by documentary evidence and I analysed literally hundreds of documents, including over 200 for the Telecoms Package alone. In making the final revisions, I am grateful to have had the input of the Telecoms Package rapporteurs, Catherine Trautmann and Malcolm Harbour, and MEPs Alexander Alvaro, Philippe Lamberts and Christian Engstrom, as well as other members of staff in the European Parliament, the Commission and the British Permanent Representation.

The book includes the first ever full account of the Third Reading of the Telecoms Package, with material which I have never published before. It explains in detail the origins and intention of the final agreement in Framework directive Article 1.3a.

What else does it have that you have not seen on iptegrity? My revised account of how copyright really got in to the Telecoms Package. I explain how the existing EU policy framework could have led to the Telecoms Package being the target. I analyse the lobby groups to explain who was who. It's all material I'm publishing for the first time, and I believe it is also a first for me.

The historical chapter was the most fun for me to write - I kept having to ask the question 'what's the punishment' because, believe it or not, no-one has written the history of copyright enforcement. So I think this is first for me too!

On a more serious note, I explain the EU policy processes, especially how to lobby in the European Parliament, which will be of interest even to those policy studies academics who do not work on the Internet.

It is written to the highest academic standards but it is intended for anybody who is interested in copyright and the Internet and I'm told it is very readable (see the reviews). If you want to understand copyright enforcement and the Internet, this is the book you need!

I hope you will like it!

'an accurate and absorbing account of the story of the Telecoms Package' -Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology

Policies discussed in The Copyright Enforcement Enigma: Internet Politics and the 'Telecoms Package'

EU: Telecoms Package, Creative Content Online (including detailed analysis of stakeholder comments), Telecoms Framework and Open Network Provision, IPR Enforcement directive, Copyright directive

Member States: France - Creation and Internet law; UK - Digital Economy Act

Here's the publisher's webpage: The Copyright Enforcement Enigma: Internet Politics and the 'Telecoms Package'

Can broadband providers be asked to enforce copyright?

The issue of copyright enforcement on the Internet - peer-to-peer downloading and so-called 'piracy' - is a political hot potato. In 2007-2009 it sparked a highly polarised policy battle in the EU and France over the three-strikes' (graduated response) measures which would make broadband providers cut alleged infringers off the Internet.

This is the enigmatic case of the EU Telecoms Package. It was an attempt to enable copyright enforcement by amending telecoms law, but the crux of the political debate concerned the right to a fair trial. How should we understand the connection between copyright, telecoms and judicial process?

The Copyright Enforcement Enigma sets the problem into a historic context of copyright enforcement, technology and liability, and exposes why the Telecoms Package was the policy vehicle chosen. Written in a lively and accessible style, the book takes the reader through the European Parliament processes to illustrate how they shaped the unexpected policy outcome.

'This excellent work of scholarship chronicles one of the most important battles over Internet governance ever fought: the attempt by copyright interests to use European Telecommunications law to conscript network operators into enforcing their rights. Dr Horten navigates through the complex proceedings without losing sight of the larger issues.'
- Milton L. Mueller, Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies Internet Governance Project, USA

Here is the Contents list for The Copyright Enforcement Enigma: Internet Politics and the 'Telecoms Package'

1. Establishing Links between Copyright and Telecoms Policies

PART I. HISTORICAL CONTEXT - COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT FROM HENRY VIII TO THE INTERNET

2. A Short History Of Copyright Enforcement

3. Copyright Enforcement And the Internet

4. Policy Perspectives for Online Copyright Enforcement

PART II. POLITICAL CONTEXT - THE LAW, THE LOBBYISTS, AND NEW ENFORCEMENT PROPOSALS FOR

EUROPE

5. EU Copyright And Telecoms Policies - an Inherent Conflict

6. Right-holder & Telecoms Lobbying - Disproportionate Influences

7. Graduated Response - Shifting Liability for Enforcement

PART 3. THE TELECOMS PACKAGE - THE ATTEMPT TO COMANDEER TELECOMS LAW FOR COPYRIGHT

8 Why the Telecoms Package became the Policy Instrument

9. The Attempt to put Copyright in the Telecoms Package

10. How Internet Users' Rights Challenged Copyright

11. How Copyright Set the Parliament Against the Member States

12. Conciliation - The Right To A Fair Trial

13. Copyright and Telecoms Regulation - the Enigma Unpacked

BIBLIOGRAPHY

14. Bibliography

If you still need more convincing, here are the reviews:

'In this page-turner Monica Horten maps out in lively detail how copyright enforcement and fundamental rights became hotly debated topics during the review of the European telecommunication directives. Making use of a wide range of documents, she paints an unusually detailed picture of how lobbying forces influence European regulation.'
- Nico A.N.M. van Eijk, Professor, Institute for Information Law (IViR) University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

'Whether one is interested in the future of the Internet, how copyright policy is made, or how Europe's political institutions really function, Monica Horten's careful telling of the struggle between corporate copyright owners and advocates for an open Internet during the making of 21st century telecoms policy in Europe is a must read.'
- Michael W. Carroll, Professor of Law and Director, Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, American University, Washington College of Law, USA

'This is a welcome contribution to the development of EU telecommunications and copyright policies showing how they have been shaped by national responses to industry lobbying over piracy. The author shows how networks, comprising of industry, politicians and key figures, were able to influence the policy preferences of the European Commission, European Parliament and public campaigning. The book shows a sophisticated understanding of the history of EU policy-making.'
- Alison Harcourt, Jean Monnet Chair, Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK

---