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The French disconnection - November 26, 2007

Although U.S. copyright owners are likely to cheer the French government’s proposal to crack down on Internet piracy by cutting off Web access for repeat offenders, the content companies might want to hold off on the champagne just yet.

While the proposal’s anti-piracy provisions grabbed the headlines, other provisions could prove problematic—not so much for what they say but for the fact they say anything at all.

Under the three-way “deal” negotiated by the government, ISPs and the media companies, the studios agreed to shorten the window between theatrical and DVD release in France from the current standard of seven and a half months, to six months, while making movie downloads available day-and-date with their DVD release.

The music companies agreed to issue French catalog product free of DRM.

None of those provisions, by itself, is likely to cause much angst among the media companies. In fact the studios have long wanted to shorten the theatrical window but were stymied by the political leverage of les cinemas. No doubt they welcome the government “mandate.”

Likewise, the ISPs were wary of ratting on their customers to the media companies but might well welcome the political cover to make peace with content owners.

All of the proposal’s provisions, however, will be overseen by a new government-appointed “authority,” as they like to say in France, with powers yet to be fully spelled out.

At a minimum, the new autorité will have the authority to determine who is engaging in “piracy,” and whose Internet access will be taken away.

But it also appears to mean the autorité will have jurisdiction over the setting and enforcement of movie release windows, not to mention the use of DRM on music.

Depending on how the new autorité is ultimately organized, moreover, it might not even be the only such autorité with authority over aspects of the studios’ business models.

Earlier this year, France created the Autorité for the Regulation of Technical Measures, which has the power to order device makers and online content providers to open their DRM systems to competitors in order to ensure interoperability.

Part of French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s motive in pushing the proposal, moreover, appears to be to get out ahead of a draft European Union plan, due to be released in December, establishing EU-wide ground rules for digital distribution.

The French anti-piracy provisions could well be adopted by EU negotiators, but so, too, could the system for regulating release windows and the use of DRM.

Whether that deal will ultimately work to the benefit of content owners remains very much to be seen. Reason enough to hold off on popping the champagne corks for now.

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