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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/hague.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/hague.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..10511f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/en/hague.html @@ -0,0 +1,282 @@ +<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> +<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 --> +<title>Harm from the Hague +- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> +<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/hague.translist" --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> +<h2>Harm from the Hague</h2> + +<p> +By <a href="http://www.stallman.org">Richard Stallman</a>, June 2001</p> + +<p> +Europeans have energetically opposed and thwarted the attempt to +introduce software patents in Europe. A proposed treaty, now being +negotiated, threatens to subject software developers in Europe and +other countries to U.S. software patents — and other harmful +laws from around the world. The problem is not just for programmers; +authors of all kinds will face new dangers. Even the censorship laws +of various countries could have globalized effect.</p> + +<p> +The Hague treaty is not actually about patents, or about copyrights, or +about censorship, but it affects all of them. It is a treaty about +jurisdiction, and how one country should treat the court decisions of +another country. The basic idea is reasonable enough: if someone hits +your car in France or breaks a contract with your French company, you +can sue him in France, then bring the judgment to a court in whichever +country he lives in (or has assets in) for enforcement.</p> + +<p> +The treaty becomes a problem when it is extended to distribution of +information — because information now travels normally and +predictably to all countries. (The Internet is one way, but not the +only way.) The consequence is that you could be sued about the +information you distributed under the laws of <strong>any</strong> +Hague country, and the judgment would probably be enforced by your +country.</p> + +<p> +For instance, if you release a software package (either free or not) +in Germany, and people use it in the U.S., you could be sued for +infringing an absurd U.S. software patent. That part does not depend +on Hague — it could happen now. But right now you could ignore +the U.S. judgment, safe in Germany, and the patent holder knows this. +Under the Hague treaty, any German court would be required to enforce +the U.S. judgment against you. In effect, the software patents of any +signatory country would apply to all signatory countries. It isn't +enough to keep software patents out of Europe, if U.S. or Japanese or +Egyptian software patents can reach you there.</p> + +<p> +But patent law is not the only area of law that could wreak havoc if +globalized by the Hague treaty. Suppose you publish a statement +criticizing a public figure. If copies are read in England, that public +figure could sue you under the strict U.K. libel law. The laws of your +country may support the right to criticize a public figure, but with the +Hague treaty, they won't necessarily protect you any more.</p> + +<p> +Or suppose you publish a statement comparing your prices with your +competitors' prices. If this is read in Germany, where comparative +advertising is illegal, you could be sued in Germany and the judgment +brought back to you wherever you are. (Subsequent note: I've received +word that this law may have been changed in Germany. The point is the +same, though—any country could have such a law, and some other +European countries may still have one.)</p> + +<p> +Or suppose you publish a parody. If it is read in Korea, you could be +sued there, since Korea does not recognize a right to parody. (Since +the publication of this article, the Korean Supreme Court affirmed the +right to parody, but the general point remains.)</p> + +<p> +Or suppose you have political views that a certain government prohibits. +You could be sued in that country, and the judgment against you there +would be enforced wherever you live.</p> + +<p> +Not long ago, Yahoo was sued in France for having links to U.S. sites +that auctioned Nazi memorabilia, which is lawful in the U.S. After a +French court required Yahoo France to block such links, Yahoo went to +court in the U.S., asking for a ruling that the French judgment cannot +be applied to the parent company in the U.S.</p> + +<p> +It may come as a surprise to learn that exiled Chinese dissidents +joined the case in support of Yahoo. But they knew what they were +doing — their democracy movement depends on the outcome.</p> + +<p> +You see, Nazism is not the only political view whose expression is +prohibited in certain places. Criticism of the Chinese government is +also prohibited — in China. If a French court ruling against +Nazi statements is enforceable in the US, or in your country, maybe a +Chinese court ruling against anti-Chinese-government statements will +be enforceable there too. (This might be why China has joined the +Hague treaty negotiations.) The Chinese government can easily adapt +its censorship law so that the Hague treaty would apply to it; all it +has to do is give private individuals (and government agencies) the +right to sue dissident publications.</p> + +<p> +China is not the only country to ban criticism of the government; as +of this writing, the government of Victoria (Australia) is suing to +suppress a book called Victoria Police Corruption on the grounds that +it “scandalizes the courts.” This book is available on the +Internet outside Australia. Australia is a Hague treaty participant; +if the treaty applies to such cases, an Australian court judgment +against the book could be used to suppress it elsewhere.</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile, works that criticize Islam have faced increasing censorship +in Egypt, a Hague treaty participant; this too could be globalized by +the Hague treaty.</p> + +<p> +Americans may turn to the First Amendment to protect them from foreign +judgments against their speech. The draft treaty permits a court to +ignore a foreign judgment that is “manifestly incompatible with +public policy.” That is a stringent criterion, so you cannot +count on it to protect you just because your conduct is legal where +you are. Just what it does cover is up to the particular judge. It +is unlikely to help you against broad foreign interpretations of +copyright, trademarks or software patents, but U.S. courts might use +it to reject outright censorship judgments.</p> + +<p> +However, even that won't help you if you publish on the Internet, +because your <abbr title="Internet service provider">ISP</abbr> either +has assets in other countries or communicates to the world through +larger <abbr>ISP</abbr>s that have them. A censorship judgment +against your site, or any other kind, could be enforced against +your <abbr>ISP</abbr>, or your <abbr>ISP</abbr>'s +<abbr>ISP</abbr>, in any other country where it has assets — and +where there is no Bill of Rights, and freedom of speech does not enjoy +the same exalted status as in the U.S. In response, the ISP will shut +off your site. The Hague treaty would globalize pretexts for +lawsuits, but not the protections for civil liberties, so any local +protection could be bypassed.</p> + +<p> +Does suing your <abbr>ISP</abbr> seem far-fetched? It already +happens. When the multinational company Danone announced plans to +close factories in France, Olivier Malnuit opened a site, +jeboycottedanone.com, to criticize this. (The name is French for +“I boycott Danone.”) Danone sued not only him but his site +hosting company and domain name registrar for “counterfeiting of +goods” — and in April 2001 received a ruling prohibiting +Malnuit from mentioning the name “Danone” either in the +domain name or in the text of the site. Even more telling, the +registrar removed the domain in fear before the court made a +ruling.</p> + +<p> +The natural response for French dissidents is to publish their +criticism of Danone outside France, just as Chinese dissidents publish +their criticism of China outside China. But the Hague treaty would +enable Danone to attack them everywhere. Perhaps even this article +would be suppressed through its <abbr>ISP</abbr> or +its <abbr>ISP</abbr>'s <abbr>ISP</abbr>.</p> + +<p> +The potential effects of the treaty are not limited to laws that exist +today. When 50 countries know that their court judgments could be +enforced throughout North America, Europe and Asia, they would have +plenty of temptation to pass laws just for that purpose.</p> + +<p> +Suppose, for example, that Microsoft would like to be able to impose +copyright on languages and network protocols. They could approach a +small, poor country and offer to spend $50 million a year there for 20 +years, if only that country will pass a law saying that implementing a +Microsoft language or protocol constitutes copyright infringement. They +can surely find some country which would take the offer. Then if you +implement a compatible program, Microsoft could sue you in that country, +and win. When the judge rules in their favor and bans distribution of +your program, the courts in your country will enforce the judgment on +you, obeying the Hague treaty.</p> + +<p> +Does this seem implausible? In 2000, Cisco pressured Liechtenstein, a +small European country, to legalize software patents. And IBM's chief +lobbyist threatened many European governments with a termination of +investment if they did not support software patents. Meanwhile, the +U.S. trade representative pressured Middle Eastern country Jordan to +allow patents on mathematics.</p> + +<!-- The following link is dead, disabled - mhatta 2002/9/30 --> +<!-- +<A HREF="http://www.usjoft.com/usjoft/memopro/memopro.html">patents on +mathematics</A>.<p> +--> +<p> +A meeting of consumer organizations +(<a href="http://www.tacd.org">http://www.tacd.org</a>) recommended in +May 2001 that patents, copyrights and trademarks (“intellectual +property”) should be excluded from the scope of the Hague +treaty, because these laws vary considerably between countries.</p> + +<p> +That is a good recommendation, but it only solves part of the problem. +Patents and bizarre extensions of copyright are just two of many excuses +used for suppression of publication in certain countries. To solve the +problem thoroughly, all cases about the legality of distributing or +transmitting particular information should be excluded from +globalization under the treaty, and only the country where the +distributor or transmitter operates should have jurisdiction.</p> + +<p> +In Europe, people opposed to software patents will be active in +working to change the Hague treaty. +<!-- link dead, disabled - yavor, 24 Apr 2007 --> +<!-- ; for more information, see +<a href="http://www.noepatents.org/hague">http://www.noepatents.org/hague</a>. +--> +In the U.S., the Consumer Project for Technology is taking the +lead; for more information, see +<a href="http://www.cptech.org/ecom/jurisdiction/hague.html">http://www.cptech.org/ecom/jurisdiction/hague.html</a>.</p> + +<p> +A diplomatic conference is slated to begin today (June 6, 2001) to work +on the details of the Hague treaty. We should make ministries and the +public aware of the possible dangers as soon as possible.</p> + +<hr /> + +<!-- link dead, disabled - yavor, 24 Apr 2007 --> +<!-- +You can read a draft of the Hague +treaty <a href="http://www.hcch.net/e/conventions/draft36e.html">here</a>.</p> +--> +<p> +There is more information about the problems with the Hague +at <a href="http://web.lemuria.org/DeCSS/hague.html">http://web.lemuria.org/DeCSS/hague.html</a>.</p> +</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> +<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> +<div id="footer"> +<div class="unprintable"> + +<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a +href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a +href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other +corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a +href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> + +<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, + replace it with the translation of these two: + + We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality + translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. + Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard + to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> + <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> + + <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of + our web pages, see <a + href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations + README</a>. --> +Please see the <a +href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for +information on coordinating and submitting translations of this article.</p> +</div> + +<p>Copyright © 2001 Richard Stallman<br /> +Copyright © 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> + +<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" +href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/">Creative +Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p> + +<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> + +<p class="unprintable">Updated: +<!-- timestamp start --> +$Date: 2014/04/12 12:40:10 $ +<!-- timestamp end --> +</p> +</div> +</div> +</body> +</html> |