Extract of the latest VG Bild-Kunst (collective society picture - art) newsletter:

"The Directorate-General internal market of the european commission is supposed
to already have received more than 10.000 contributions regarding the topic copyright.

Before that a questionnaire with almost 80 complex juristic questions to the topic
was published. For instance there is asked, if a clarification for the territorical
scope of the right of making available would have consequences for temporary
legal protection - in english, of course.

The pirates quickly had the idea to call on their clients to flood
the commission with individual contributions. An online app was launched,
which leads the user with less clicks through the questionnaire and compilates
pre-filled answers respective to one's choices - of course, only answers
against copyright.

After this it ringed out of the commission, that especially the number of
contributions counts. The deadline for contributing to the EU copyright consultation
forehandedly was postponed 1 month - new deadline is the 5th of March.
Hectically also the associations of creatives have started to provide
authors with opportunities to fill out the questionnaire and send it to
the commission.

The collecting society picture - art didn't join that herd instinct.
The whole thing is a farce: The questionnaire never was meant to be
fore a broad audience; otherwise it should have been executed by a
professional institute, and that with easily to understand questions
in all EU languages and not only in english. If later the commission
wants to consider the number of contributions, I consider this to
be juristically attackable.

You can look through our contributions as lawyers of our members in
copyright matters in this news letter.


Best regards,
your Urban Daddy"