Posted 08/19/09 at 05:14:11 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The French fervidly guard their culture against any possible cultural transgressions by the Anglo-Saxon juggernaut. Four year’s ago, the French resolved to prevent Google from assuming control of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), their national library. But they have finally ended their four-year resistance.

France’s national library has reached an agreement with Google over the digitization of its massive book collection that contains about 13 million books and publications. Google’s financial muscle is expected to quicken the digitization process.  Denis Bruckmann, director of collections at BNF, has blamed financial considerations for the library’s capitulation. However, the library does not intend to halt its own digitization efforts. 

Read More

Posted 04/10/09 at 06:31:37 PM by Andy Salisbury

Ah, the French. Sure, they may be the butt of many a joke, but its situations like these that remind us that they’re (usually) well deserved.

While the “Creation and Internet” bill (a bill that would allow ISPs to take actions against customers accused of illegally downloading copyrighted material) won preliminary approval in French Parliament last week, it would appear that too few members supporting the bill showed up to the hearing that ultimately saw it denied.

According to reports, the bill was expected to pass, but a low turnout caused the bill’s opposition, the French Socialist party, to defeat it by a vote of 21 to 15. And while President Nicolas Sarkozy’s own UMP party was able to propel him to the highest office in France, they were unable to turn down that third crêpe, and missed out on the hearing.

This isn’t the last we’ll hear of it though – the UMP party does intend to reintroduce an amended version within the month. Maybe this time they’ll show up?

Read More

Posted 11/03/08 at 01:25:57 PM by Paul Lilly

The World Series might be over (congrats Philly fans), but baseball fever is apparently sweeping through France in the form of a "three strikes" copyright enforcement proposal gaining ground in the country's Senate. The pitch is this: Get caught downloading illegal content a first time and receive an email from the ISP with a warning. A second strike earns a written letter via snail mail, and a third strike means you're out. Of course, in baseball striking out is only temporary until the next at-bat, and for internet surfers caught breaking the law three times, they'd have to wait a year before having their internet connection turned back on.

The controversial legislation is receiving widespread support with a cross-party vote showing 297 in favor of the new law and only 16 voting against. That leaves it up to the French National Assembly to vote on and decide the proposal's fate. If it should pass, the French government could find itself at odds with the European Parliament, who earlier this year shot down the notion of cutting off repeat offenders.

Think this type of legislation could ever fly in the U.S.? Hit the jump and post your thoughts.

Read More

Posted 06/24/08 at 02:25:56 PM by Mark Pengelski

Starting in January 2009, French users bittorrenting the latest film or music from singer Carla Bruni can get the guillotine -- from the Internet at least. That's the plan approved by the French presidential cabinet last week. It goes to a vote in the French Parliament later this year.

Under the 'three strikes plan', individuals who do not cease their illegal downloads after 2 (very official) warnings will be have their broadband service disconnected for 1 year. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said "There's no reason that the internet should be a lawless zone."

Read More