ORG Press Coverage/2006

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December

2006-12-15 - The Inquirer - Gates says music DRM is a bit of a mess
Author: Nick Farrell
Summary: The Beeb quoted Suw Charman, of the Open Rights Group, who pointed out it was a "bit rich of Bill Gates to make his comments given how much DRM is stuffed into Windows Vista".
2006-12-15 - BBC - Gates: Digital locks too complex
Summary: Suw Charman, of the Open Rights Group, said it was a "bit rich of Bill Gates to make his comments given how much DRM is stuffed into Windows Vista", the new operating system from Microsoft. "The problem with DRM is that it is very anti-consumer," she said. "It is bully-boy tactics by the media industry," she added. But backers of DRM argue it gives artists an assurance that their work is being protected. Ms Charman called for more information for consumers when they buy digital files and CDs. "Often consumers do not know what restrictions have been imposed on CDs or digital music until after they have bought them," she said. She added: "Apple have been known to change the rules after people have bought tracks."
2006-12-14 - British Computer Society - We have the responsibility to stop e-voting
Author: Jason Kitcat
Summary: At first blush electronic voting sounds like a good idea. To a web-surfer voting online appears no different to shopping on the internet. But in fact the two are poles apart, when people become more aware of the problems with e-voting, they tend to be much more suspicious. ... Jason Kitcat MBCS researches e-government and e-democracy at the University of Sussex. He is the e-voting campaign coordinator at the Open Rights Group (openrightsgroup.org).
2006-12-07 - United Press International - McCartney, U2 support copyright extension
Summary: The public petition for the extension has not gained the support of Britain's Open Rights Group, which has long been a proponent of digital rights. "The big music firms have done a good job of persuading some artists to sign up to this but anyone who reads the Gowers review will see it demolishes the arguments for extension," a spokesman for the group told the BBC. "An awful lot of content creators are not represented by this and recognize an extension will do nothing for creativity and nothing for the public."
Note: Also reprinted in Washington Times, Daily India, Earth Times, uses quotes from BBC
2006-12-07 - The Guardian - Old tunes for all
Summary: The report was given a guarded welcome by the recently formed Open Rights group which campaigned strongly against extending the 50-year limit, but the war is not won yet. The Gowers report is only a staging post, a way of influencing UK government thinking before Whitehall submits its own policy to Brussels where the final decisions will be taken. The real lobbying has only just begun.
2006-12-07 - The Guardian - Citizens' democracy is having an impact
Author: Victor Keegan
Summary: About 15 months ago I went, rather dutifully, to a meeting about digital rights in London's Soho. I was amazed to find quite a big crowd talking animatedly about a subject that was difficult to raise in polite conversation at the time. I was told that this was an inaugural meeting after 1,000 people had pledged £5 a month to get a new pressure group, Open Rights (openrightsgroup.org) established. Its aim was to campaign for people's rights in the digital age when decision-making is dominated by governments and the huge lobbying power of the music and publishing industries. It is clear that it has already become a force to be reckoned with and has had a big influence on making the Gowers review of intellectual property rights, published this week, more consumer-friendly.
2006-12-07 - Computeract!ve - Cracking down on counterfeiters
Author: Dinah Greek
Summary: However, the Open Rights Group which has generally welcomed many of the recommendations has called for caution with the more draconian penalties for counterfeiting. Suw Charman, who is chairman of the ORG, said: "While huge counterfeiting operations are obviously a problem, care needs to be taken not to demonise the petty offenders such as people uploading content on the internet. "Jail is a place for people who are a danger to the public. IP infringements should not be equated with violent crime."
2006-12-07 - The Guardian - Chancellor offers £5m for pursuit of pirates
Author: Owen Gibson
Summary: Dave Rowntree, drummer with Blur and a member of the Open Rights Group, said: "The idea of a private copying exception is long overdue and, together with a proposal for orphaned works and the transformative works and parody exceptions, it will make for a more robust copyright law which encourages creativity rather than stifles it."
2006-12-07 - Intellectual Property Watch - Key Report Urges UK Government To Boost IP Enforcement and Fair Use Rights
Author: William New
Summary: The Open Rights Group, however, praised Gowers for standing up to "music industry hyperbole." National Consumer Council Policy Director Jill Johnstone said, "Evidence shows that music companies generally make returns on material in a matter of years - not decades." She added, "Current terms of protection for copyrights already over-protect right holders - and consumers are paying the price."
2006-12-07 - CBC British Columbia, Canada - British musicians fight for copyright extension
Summary: The Open Rights Group, which included Matt Black, a DJ from Coldcut, supported Gowers's recommendation. "The only people to benefit from term extension would be the giant traditional media groups," Black said. "Here we can recognize that music is a key part of our culture, [and, indeed, a key export], that recycling is a natural part of musical creativity," he added.
2006-12-07 - BBC - Musicians sign copyright advert
Summary: A spokesman for the Open Rights Group, which campaigns for greater digital rights, said: "The big music firms have done a good job of persuading some artists to sign up to this but anyone who reads the Gowers review will see it demolishes the arguments for extension." "An awful lot of content creators are not represented by this and recognise an extension will do nothing for creativity and nothing for the public."
Note: Very mangled quote not from an Open Rights Group spokesman. Quote only added some time after story was published.
2006-12-06 - Web User - Hefty jail terms for pirates
Author: Ben Camm-Jones
Summary: The long-awaited Gowers report was finally made public today, containing proposals for far heavier sentences for infringements of copyright laws. ... The Open Rights Group (ORG) expressed concern that a distinction must be made between people who flout the law for their own financial gain and those who are guilty of minor infringements of copyright regulations. "We are concerned, however, that the report is recommending stronger enforcement of intellectual property rights without distinguishing between large-scale commercial and small-scale non-commercial infringement," said Suw Charman, executive director of the ORG.

November

2006-11-29 - Intellectual Property Watch - Mixed Reactions To Leaked Section Of Key UK IP Report
Author: Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen
Summary: Those supporting the transition of content to the public domain applauded the news on copyright extension. The Open Rights Group, a UK-based organisation working to preserve digital rights and freedoms by serving as a hub for other cyber-rights groups, hailed the news that the report might recommend maintaining existing copyright terms. "If this is true, we are encouraged and delighted by the news," the group said. "As we have argued - alongside the British Library, the [think-tank] Institute for Public Policy Research, and prominent musicians such as Dave Rowntree from Blur - it is essential for the vitality of the music industry that they honour the copyright bargain they have struck so that both old and new music can flourish," the Open Rights Group said.
2006-11-27 - The Guardian - Music business fights the 50-year rule
Author: Owen Gibson
Summary: The British music industry today launched a last-ditch appeal to head off the findings of an upcoming review expected to reject their pleas to extend the copyright period on sound recordings. ... The Open Rights Group, which has argued alongside the British Library and artists such as Blur's Dave Rowntree that the current status quo provides the best balance between compensation and freedom of expression, said it was "encouraged and delighted by the news".
2006-11-27 - Yahoo! - Copyright extension a no-go: BPI reacts
Author: Chris Williams
Summary: Nacsent UK digital rights organisation the Open Rights Group campaigned against extension, asserting it would mostly benefit the four major labels. Influential liberal-leaning thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said in its recent report on copyright: "We have not seen any evidence to suggest that current protections provided in law are insufficient. We feel that to extend terms any further than their current length is economically illogical and anti-competitive."
2006-11-27 - The Register - Copyright extension a no-go: report
Author: Chris Williams
Summary: The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property will recommend the current 50 year copyright term on sound recordings is not extended, according to reports. ... UK digital rights organisation the Open Rights Group campaigned against extension, asserting it would mostly benefit the four major labels.
2006-11-27 - Computer act!ve - Tenant threatened with eviction for 'anti-social' website
Author: Anthony Dhanendran
Summary: A Glaswegian man is being threatened with eviction from his home because he ran a web site criticising his landlords. ... That came as a surprise to Quinn, his lawyers and to the Open Rights Group (Org), which campaigns on privacy issues in the UK. Wendy Grossman of Org told Computeractive: "It seems bizarre that any landlord should have the right to evict a tenant on the basis of a web site." She added that although this is the first case where eviction has been threatened, it's not the first time a person's web site has got them into trouble. "You do see stories of kids being suspended from school because they criticised a teacher on the internet, or of people being fired for putting up sites criticising their employers," she said. "There's a chilling effect of self-censorship, where the more people believe there will be bad consequences of what they write online, the more they hesitate before saying anything."
2006-11-27 - CRN
Summary: Quote from Richard Clayton - identified as an ORG member - in "soundbytes" section (p41) expressing concern about 'any item' in the Computer Misuse Act.
2006-11-26 - BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour - Report on E Voting
Summary: The problems with e-voting. Jason Kitcat of the Open Rights Group highlights the increased risk of electoral fraud. Bridget Prentice the Minister responsible for the e-voting pilots was also interviewed.
2006-11-26 - Red Orbit - Millions Get (Legally) Wired for Sound
Author: Peta Firth
Summary: But Sir Cliff has a fight on his hands. Equally vociferous groups such as Release The Music and its sister organisation, the Open Rights Group, believe iconic hits are as much part of our cultural heritage as Shakespeare and should be shared.
2006-11-23 - The Guardian - Let's dance to a new tune
Author: Victor Keegan
Summary: Copyright rules for music should be rewritten in favour of consumers rather than record companies. ... The Open Rights Group has the best approach when it says that the burden of proof should be on those that are advocating change. But even that would only seal the status quo in aspic.
2006-11-23 - The Guardian - Let's dance to a new tune
Author: Victor Keegan
Summary: What should be done? The Open Rights Group has the best approach when it says that the burden of proof should be on those that are advocating change. But even that would only seal the status quo in aspic.
2006-11-22 - The Register - Computer Misuse Act could ban security tools
Summary: Publishing software flaws now an offence? The new Police and Justice Act, published today, could criminalise legitimate IT security activity. There are fears among security experts that changes it makes to the Computer Misuse Act will make it illegal to distribute some vital tools. ... "This applies particularly to dual use tools like nmap, which security professionals use to check if a network is insecure or not and which the bad guys use to scan for insecurities to then attack it," said Richard Clayton, a member of digital rights group the Open Rights Group and a security researcher at Cambridge University. "Distributors of this have to decide if the people getting it from them are the good guys or the bad guys."
Note: Also published in Out-law.com Computer Misuse Act could ban security tools
2006-11-20 - Virus Bulletin - UK toughens law against DoS, tools
Summary: The UK 'Police and Justice Bill 2006', introduced into UK law this month, has drawn some approval for its efforts to refine the definitions of computer abuse to ensure Denial of Service attacks are covered, and for upping the potential penalty for hacking attacks from five to ten years. However, law watchers have warned that other clauses in the law could impinge on the development and use of tools useful to security testers and researchers as well as hackers. ... A summary and some analysis can be seen at the Open Rights Group wiki.
2006-11-16 - P2PNET.net - UK online copyright protest
Summary: Britons who own MP3 players which they've filled with copies of legally purchased CDs are breaking the law. That's because "making this copy is itself illegal," says Open Rights Group executive director Suw Charman.
2006-11-13 - WhatPC? - Jack of all trades, master of the ORG
Summary: These issues included concern about legislation such as the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and the EU directive on data retention. Charman and her co-member of ORG are particularly worried about heavy handed law-making that has too great an impact on online rights. "There is a lot of bad legislation done in the name of protecting us against potential threats," says Charman, who believes the founding of ORG was timely. "The community already existed and the ORG has tapped into it," she comments. "This is about a group of people who are passionate about these issues and we wouldn’t be here now if there hadn’t been such a high level of support from the public."
Note: Also in ITWeek Jack of all trades, master of the ORG and Information World Review Jack of all trades, master of the ORG
2006-11-13 - PCPro - Campaign groups fight music copyright term extension
Author: Alun Williams
Summary: 'Release the Music' is the campaign of the Open Rights Group, seeking to fight attempts to extend the copyright term on sound recordings. And as well as hosting a public debate on the issue tonight - pitting Blur's Dave Rowntree versus the BPI's Director of Public Affairs - it has started an online petition to back its cause.

October

2006-10-31 - The Register - Recordings copyright set for extension
Author: Andrew Orlowski
Summary: The case against extending copyright terms for sound recordings may have won some heavyweight backing from think tank IPPR this week, but it received a predictable mauling at Britain's biggest music convention, In The City. A panel discussing the issue was loaded with advocates for extending copyright terms, and only one dissenter: lawyer Louise Ferguson of the clumsily-named Open Rights Group.
2006-10-23 - Boing Boing - UK Open Rights Group is hiring!
Author: Cory Doctorow
Summary: The UK Open Rights Group, a group that campaigns for digital rights, is hiring a new executive director -- this could be the job of a lifetime for the right person!
2006-10-22 - BBC Radio Five Live - E.U.Tube?
Author: Chris Vallance
Summary: On Tuesday we'll be speaking with Kevin Marks of the Open Rights Group advisory panel to talk about proposals being considered for the regulation of video on the net: a Lords Committee has been looking at plans to update the TV Without Frontiers EU directive. It currently covers traditional television, but there are proposals from the EU Commission to extend this to the net.
2006-10-06 - Information World Review - BL demands overhaul of intellectual property law
Author: Mark Chillingworth
Summary: Microsoft and Google have joined forces with the British Library in calling on the government to radically overhaul the intellectual property (IP) law. Meetings at both the Labour and Conservative Party conferences have added momentum to the debate and a manifesto for new legislation has been drafted. The National Consumer Council , British Phonographic Industry and the Open Rights Group are also lobbying both the current government and the resurgent Conservative Party to modernise the law to reflect the digital age.
2006-10-04 - The Register - Broadcast treaty needs sounding out, says WIPO
Summary: Tech companies breathe sigh of relief...for now. A controversial broadcast copyright treaty opposed by podcasters and internet broadcasters has been dealt a blow by the General Assembly of the body behind it. "This is a right just for transmitting something, and it exists on top of the existing copyright [in the broadcast]," Rufus Pollock, a director of the Open Knowledge Foundation and a member of the board of the Open Rights Group, told OUT-LAW in June
2006-10-04 - Out-Law.com - Broadcast treaty needs sounding out, says WIPO
Summary: A controversial broadcast copyright treaty opposed by podcasters and internet broadcasters has been dealt a blow by the General Assembly of the body behind it. ... "This is a right just for transmitting something, and it exists on top of the existing copyright [in the broadcast]," Rufus Pollock, a director of the Open Knowledge Foundation and a member of the board of the Open Rights Group, told OUT-LAW in June.
2006-10-02 - InfoToday.com - The British Library Releases Intellectual Property Manifesto
Author: Robin Peek
Summary: At what was called a "fringe event" of the U.K. Labour Party Conference, The British Library (BL) sponsored “IP Fee or Free? Public Access versus commercial opportunity in the digital age,” an event that was attended by representatives from Microsoft U.K., Google, the Open Rights Group, and other industry heavyweights. Here The British Library released a document called "Intellectual Property: A Balance—The British Library Manifesto."

September

2006-09-25 - The New York Times - British Library calls for digital copyright action
Author: Tom Espiner
Summary: The Open Rights Group, a digital civil-rights organization, said it "whole-heartedly supported" the British Library's call for a clarification of copyright law." "One of the key problems is that the limitations and exceptions to copyright law are being ignored by business, which is imposing restrictive licenses on digital content,"
2006-09-25 - ZDNet - The British Library wants copyright law to be updated to curb DRM excesses
Author: Tom Espiner
Summary: The British Library has called for a "serious updating" of current copyright law to "unambiguously" include digital content, and take technological advances into account. Digital civil rights organisation the Open Rights Group said it "whole-heartedly supported" the British Library's call for a clarification of copyright law." "One of the key problems is that the limitations and exceptions to copyright law are being ignored by business, which is imposing restrictive licences on digital content," Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group told ZDNet UK." Charman said DRM restrictions could be particularly damaging for academic research. "If a library carried a printed journal, academics and students could photocopy it. Digital journals have restrictions on access, which is a dangerous road to go down," said Charman. "If we allow companies to create their own licences, we undermine copyright law. If we say contract law is more important than copyright law, it allows publishers to write whatever licence they like, which is what is happening now."
2006-09-13 - Blogger News Network - Podcasters Unite To Resist WIPO
Author: Deek Deekster
Summary: ... UKPA (UK Podcasters Association) has been working for months with the Irish PodRepBod, the German Podcastverband, the Open Rights Group in the UK and the EFF in the US to resist aspects of the Broadcast Treaty, which many podcasters, podcast users and a growing number of politicians feel are inimical to the healthy development of grassroots new media culture. The issues are about copyright, and the ongoing ownership of content. ...
2006-09-01 - ZDNet - Anti-DRM day announced
Author: David Meyer
Summary: Part of the Free Software Foundation has earmarked 3 October for a global protest against digital rights management technology. "Media companies should be embracing the new possibilities that digital technology brings," said Dr Ian Brown, an expert for the Open Rights Group and academic working at UCL and the Cambridge-MIT Institute, on Friday. "Instead, most are trying to lock us all into their 20th century business models, using faulty technology that will stop consumers from making legitimate uses of copyright works," he told ZDNet UK.
Note: Also reprinted in silicon.com Anti-DRM day to début next month and ZDNet Asia Anti-DRM day set for next month.

August

2006-08-15 - BBC - Police decryption powers 'flawed'
Summary: The government faces criticism over plans to give police powers to make suspects produce readable copies of encrypted computer evidence.
2006-08-07 - PC Pro - Web independence comes under lobby attack
Author: Stewart Mitchell
Summary: 'Consumer rights are significantly affected when lobbyists tip the balance away from the public good,' said Suw Charman of the Open Rights Group. 'For example, laws are being used to protect DRM software by companies such as Apple, which then price discriminate within the supposedly single EU market. The cost of an iTunes Music Store track is higher in the UK than in the rest of the EU.'
2006-08-01 - PC Pro - EC eyes single market for digital content
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: The European Commission has begun a public consultation on ways to stimulate the growth of an EU single market for online digital content including films, music and games. The Commission hopes to encourage the development of new business models and promote the cross-border delivery of online content services. ... The UK's Open Rights Group has opened a wiki page for answers to the consultation's questions.

July

2006-07-28 - BBC - Group battles for digital rights
Author: Darren Waters
Summary: Article about the Open Rights Group. An organisation committed to fighting for people's digital rights in the UK is celebrating its first birthday. The Open Rights Group (Org) was founded last year on the back of an online pledge from 1,000 people to fund the group with £5 a month each.
2006-07-27 - PC Pro - ORG opens debate on UK privacy rules
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: The Open Rights Group has opened a wiki page for people who wish to contribute to the debate around changes to the UK Data Protection Act (DPA). ... The ORG wiki invites answers and subsequent edits (since it is a wiki) to the five questions posed in the consultation paper. ...
2006-07-21 - M&C Tech - Yahoo! offers DRM free downloads
Quote: Suw Charman, executive director of the digital advocacy body the Open Rights Group, told the BBC: 'It's an important experiment. I hope it's the beginning of a significant movement from them (Yahoo!).' 'It sends a strong message about not having to have DRM on everything.'
2006-07-21 - Financial Mirror - Yahoo offers copy-free music
Summary: Internet company Yahoo has released their first music download from a major record label without copy protection, the BBC reported on its website.
Quote: Suw Charman, executive director of the digital advocacy body the Open Rights Group says the experiment is "clearly a gimmick" but still a significant move. "It's an important experiment," she said. "I hope it's the beginning of a significant movement from them [Yahoo]." "It sends a strong message about not having to have DRM on everything."
2006-07-21 - BBC - US Yahoo offers copy-free music
Summary: Internet company Yahoo has released its first music download from a major record label without copy protection.
Quote: Suw Charman, executive director of the digital advocacy body the Open Rights Group says the experiment is "clearly a gimmick" but still a significant move. "It's an important experiment," she said. "I hope it's the beginning of a significant movement from them (Yahoo)." "It sends a strong message about not having to have DRM on everything."
2006-07-14 - The Guardian - Internet companies reject plans for tariff to offset music piracy
Author: Bobbie Johnson
Summary: Technology companies have reacted angrily to the idea of a new tariff aimed at recouping money lost to illegal downloads. The proposals for a change in copyright law and licensing - put forward this week by independent music labels and artists' organisations - have caused consternation among internet and mobile phone firms. They are unhappy about what they describe as an extra tax on their services.
Quote: "They are looking at booming technology markets, such as the growth in iPod sales, and wondering how they can get themselves a slice of the action," said Suw Charman of the Open Rights Group.
2006-07-13 - Digital-Lifestyles.info - ISPs Give Mixed Response On BPI Attempt to Clamp Down
Author: Scott Russell
Summary: The BPI continued its policy of clamping down on illegal file sharing this week, when it contacted UK ISPs Cable and Wireless and Tiscali with requests to suspend 59 accounts.
Note: Mentions the EEF and ORG. 'The BPI was noticeably absent from the group of industry organizations which gathered in London on the 12th of July to discuss new ways of charging for electronic distribution of copyright material. Their proposal, that "unlicensed intermediaries – rather than consumers" should be "the target of copyright enforcement actions", was described as "ill-conceived and grasping" by Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group.'
2006-07-13 - The Guardian - Internet firms reject 'piracy tariff' plan
Author: Bobbie Johnson
Summary: Technology companies have reacted angrily to the idea of a new tariff aimed at recouping money lost to illegal downloading. The proposals for a change in copyright law and licensing - put forward this week by independent music labels and artists' organisations - have caused consternation among internet and mobile phone companies. They are unhappy about what they say is the threat of an extra tax on their services.
Note: Quote "They are looking at booming technology markets, such as the growth in iPod sales, and wondering how they can get themselves a slice of the action," said Suw Charman of digital lobbyists the Open Rights Group.
2006-07-13 - PC Pro - UK music bodies call for copyright reform
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: A coalition of UK music bodies is calling for a change in copyright law designed to enable musicians and other rights holders to levy ISPs and device manufacturers that 'profit' from file sharing.
Note: Lots of quotes from ORG including 'AIM and their colleagues also seem to be implying that the ECommerce Directive, which protects ISPs' status as "mere conduits" and is crucial to the net's development, should be torn up,' Charman said. 'Messing with that for financial gain would be very foolish. AIM's proposals are like charging the Post Office a fee in case some of the packages it delivers have illegally copied CDs in them, and making them responsible for the contents of every parcel they deliver.'
2006-07-13 - out-law.com - Music industry proposes 'ISP tax'
Summary: A music industry coalition has proposed that ISPs and others should pay a licence fee to compensate rights-holders for unlawful file-sharing by their customers. One critic called the plans, which would change copyright laws, "ill-conceived and grasping."
Note: Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said: "This proposal is ill-conceived and grasping. Suggesting that ISPs and telcos should be responsible for the content transferred by their users illustrates how poorly the music industry understand the net, the right to privacy, and the ISPs' duties to their customers under the Data Protection Act."
2006-07-12 - MacUser - Open Rights Group counter-attacks BPI over music downloads
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: UK digital rights campaigners have urged ISPs to resist attempts by the music industry to have them close down the Internet accounts of alleged p2p file sharers. The Open Rights Group said that the BPI's request that Tiscali and Cable & Wireless close 59 accounts 'is a really bad idea, not just for users but for ISPs too', according to executive director Suw Charman.
Note: Custom PC Open Rights Group counter-attacks BPI over music downloads, Computer Shopper Open Rights Group counter-attacks BPI over music downloads
2006-07-12 - PC Pro - Open Rights Group counter-attacks BPI over music downloads
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: UK digital rights campaigners have urged ISPs to resist attempts by the music industry to have them close down the Internet accounts of alleged p2p file sharers. The Open Rights Group said that the BPI's request that Tiscali and Cable & Wireless close 59 accounts 'is a really bad idea, not just for users but for ISPs too', according to executive director Suw Charman. 'It's essential that ISPs resist the BPI's attempt to strong-arm them into becoming the music industry's bully-boys,' Charman said. 'If the BPI has evidence of wrong-doing, then it must go through the proper channels in order to pursue its case. Producing a list of IP addresses and demanding that the customers who used them be disconnected is no more than an attempt at summary justice. If the end-user is mis-identified - perhaps the IP address was shared or mis-communicated by the BPI - then it will be the ISPs and their innocent customers who will suffer the consequences.'
2006-07-10 - eHomeUprade - UK ISPs Urged to Lock Out File-Sharers
Author: Alexander Grundner
Summary: Suw Charman, Executive Director of the UK-based Open Rights Group, comments: "It's essential that ISPs resist the BPI's attempt to strong-arm them into becoming the music industry's bully-boys. If the BPI has evidence of wrong-doing, then it must go through the proper channels in order to pursue its case. Producing a list of IP addresses and demanding that the customers who used them be disconnected is no more than an attempt at summary justice. If the end-user is mis-identified - perhaps the IP address was shared or mis-communicated by the BPI - then it will be the ISPs and their innocent customers who will suffer the consequences."
2006-07-01 - eHomeUprade - Audio Interview: Suw Charman, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group
Author: Alexander Grundner
Summary: An eye-opening discussion with the Executive Director, Suw Charman, who reveals the ugly truth regarding the limited consumer rights and freedoms people have in the UK (let's just say we should count ourselves lucky compared to what's going on over there) and how her organization is taking a stand to help educate the public and influence new legislation.
Note: Contains a 46 Minute MP3

June

2006-06-26 - New Statesman - Fighting for e-freedom
Author: Becky Hogge
Summary: Digital rights are human rights for the web age. Let's make them sexy. It's farewell to Cory Doctorow .... Doctorow leaves in his wake a newly formed UK Open Rights Group....
2006-06-21 - OUT-LAW.COM - Plans for new broadcasting rights anger podcasters
Summary: The UK is backing a controversial new broadcasting treaty that opponents say gives big media companies new rights over content. The UK joins the US, the BBC, Yahoo! and other nations and firms supporting WIPO's draft Broadcasting Treaty. Intellectual property campaigners and podcasters oppose the new treaty. They claim that it puts more control over content in the hands of big business. "This is a right just for transmitting something, and it exists on top of the existing copyright," said Rufus Pollock, a director of the Open Knowledge Foundation and a member of the board of the Open Rights Group.
2006-06-14 - Financial Times - Crunch time for Apple’s music icon
Author: Tom Braithwaite and Kevin Allison
Summary: Pressure on Apple Computer to open its closed system of the iTunes digital music store and the iPod music player is spreading across Europe. In the UK, the Open Rights Group, has been lobbying MPs to force companies to open up their DRM. "If I buy a car I expect any brand of petrol to work in it. Consumers are starting to see that they can do less with the music they buy," says Suw Charman, executive director of the group.
Note: Also reprinted by MSN Money Crunch time for Apple's music icon
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-06 - DVD Recordable - UK Politicians Want DRM Limitations Made Clearer
Summary: Consumers should be told exactly what they can and cannot do with songs and films they buy online, says an influential group of MPs in the UK. Lots of quotes from Suw. "We think people rightly feel that once they buy something, it stays bought,"
2006-06-06 - ComputerActive - MPs call for clarity over consumer DRM rights
Author: Dinah Greek
Summary: The report has generally been welcomed by consumer organisations. However, the Open Rights Group cautioned that there is still more that could be done. It said APIG had "missed an opportunity to look more closely at interoperability and open standards for digital content and the hardware that content is played on".
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-05 - ZDNet - MPs demand DRM safeguards
Author: Tom Espiner
Summary: An independent parliamentary group wants companies to receive legal guidance over the implementation of DRM, after Sony's 'rootkit' debacle last year. "We are particularly heartened to see APIG take note of the Sony BMG MediaMax and XCP debacle, sending a strong message to companies that they risk prosecution if they use virus-like software which damages consumers' computers," said Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group, a digital rights advocacy group.
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-05 - Boing Boing - UK Parliament report damns DRM, calls for reins on crippleware
Author: Cory Doctorow
Summary: The UK All Party Parliamentary Internet Group has published a paper on DRM today that makes a number of very progressive recommendations on DRM in British law. The APPIG solicited public comments, and the UK Open Rights Group submitted a long, detailed set of recommendations on how to make Britain safe from copy-restriction technology. Many of the best recommendations in the APPIG mirror the ORG proposals, which suggests that Parliament is really listening to tech activists on DRM questions.
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-05 - Groklaw - APIG Releases Their Report on DRM - It Will Surprise You
Author: PJ
Summary: Detailed coverage and list of points made by the APIG group. Quotes Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group.
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-05 - netribution - Government Inquiry into DRM calls for full disclosure
Author: Nicol Wistreich
Summary: BoingBoing blogger, novelist, open media champion and Open Rights Group member Cory Doctorow commented "These reccos certainly could have gone farther, but hoo boy, would you look at that? Talk about a country bent on learning from America's dumb DRM mistakes.' Quotes heavily from ORG and links to the main web site.
2006-06-05 - p2pnet - Consumers and DRM
Summary: Charman said increasingly, consumers were bumping up against DRM technologies as they use digital media such as downloaded songs and that DRM was, "less about protecting copyright and more about creating a system in which people rent rather than own the media they spend money on," says the story, adding, 'We think people rightly feel that once they buy something, it stays bought,' she said."
2006-06-05 - PC Pro - MPs call for better labelling of digital content
Author: Simon Aughton
Summary: APIG has called on the Office of Fair Trading to quickly introduce labelling that explains exactly how digital content can be used and re-used, and the implications for the consumer if they attempt to break copy-protection systems. They have not, however, called for the practice to be made explicitly illegal, as it is in the US. Suw Charman, director of the Open Rights Group which campaigns for consumers' digital rights "We think people rightly feel that once they buy something, it stays bought,"
Keywords: DRM
2006-06-04 - BBC - MPs in digital downloads warning
Summary: Consumers should be told exactly what they can and cannot do with songs and films they buy online, says an influential group of MPs in the UK. APIG report on DRM and lots of quotes from Suw Charman, executive director of the Open Rights Group.
Comments: The bbc report has been pointed to by slashdot so it has got a lot of traffic. U.K. Group Wants DRM'd Media Labelled
Notes: Also covered by DVD-Recordable
Keywords: DRM

May

2006-05-30 - Toward Freedom - EU Data Retention: Access All Areas
Author: Monica Horten
Summary: This month, a highly controversial European law came into effect that raises concerns about our fundamental right to privacy. Even before the final text was officially published, the directive had been criticised by several of Europe's data protection authorities, with safeguards proposed by a European parliamentary committee ignored as the directive was driven hard through the legislative process.
Keywords: Data Retention
2006-05-18 - Open Democracy - EU data retention: access all areas
Author: Monica Horten
Summary: A directive that challenges our fundamental right to privacy became law in the EU this month. Monica Horten charts its course through Brussels and details the concerns of its many critics.
Keywords: Data Retention
Issue 61 - Linux User & Developer - Whose Net is it, anyway?
Author: Suw Charman
Keywords: Trusted Computing, Data Retention

April

2006-04-05 - The Guardian - In praise of ... PledgeBank.com
Summary: Talking about PledgeBank.com, and gives the Open Rights Group as an example.
Keywords: PledgeBank

March

2006-03-20 - Guardian - Media firms open fire on digital pirates
Author: Bobbie Johnson
Summary: For some the issue isn’t DRM itself, it’s the proprietary nature of it. Everyone has an angle, and everyone is trying to lock you in. Others say that every one would be better off with no DRM. Users who accept that rights owners want protection, but don’t want to be treated like criminals or forced to stick with services we don’t like.
Comments: Also available on Bobbie Johnson's blog if you do not want to register with the Guardian web site. Is mentioned on the Guardian Technology campaign for free public access to data about the UK and its citizens.
Keywords: DRM library music media peer-to-peer
2006-03-16 - Boing Boing - War stories needed for UK review of "Intellectual Property" law
Author: Cory Doctorow
Summary: Publicising the Gowers review website from ORG. Call for stories and evidence provide an alternative viewpoint on copyright, patents and other aspects of IP
Comments:
Keywords: copyright IP Gower
2006-03-16 - silicon.com - Open Rights Group wades into DRM debate
Author: Tom Espiner
Summary: Suw Charman of ORG supports suggestions from MP Derek Wyatt that the British Library would make "an excellent facilitator" in the DRM debate. Analysis of DRM debate so far
Comments: Also syndicated in BusinessWeek British Group Wades into DRM Debate
Keywords: DRM library music downloads
2006-03-16 - ZDNet UK - Campaigners back call for DRM debate
Author: Tom Espiner
Summary: The Open Rights Group has agreed with MP Derek Wyatt that the British Library should organise the DRM debate, but disagrees with his call for a European Internet governance body
Comments:
Keywords: DRM library music downloads internet

February

January

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