European DMCA

We're beginning to hear a bit in the States about the European version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The U.S. version of the law, passed some years ago, has been criticized as being ineffective, confusing, and overly restrictive; and for creating a "chilling effect" in the online/developers environment--discouraging competition, supporting closed-source, proprietary software solutions instead of open-source, interoperable ones.

The E.U. version of the act, the European Union Copyright Directive, is being formalized into law in some countries. In Switzerland, the law was passed on October 5; however, a petition that is in circulation calls for a referendum and public discussion of the pros and cons of the law. Consider reading up on this important topic and, if you choose, signing the petition for referendum: http://no-dmca.ch/index.en.html. The link to the Ars Technica posting on the right-hand side of this page provides a useful summary.