The Data Retention Directive

The Data Retention Directive

The Directive is a reaction to what happend i New York (2001), Madrid(2004) and London(2005) from the terror organisation Al- Qaida. Government in the EU wanted a tool in the fight against crime. The Directive was adopted by the EU in 2006.

April 2011 with the votes from the Conservative and Labour parties, Norway has adopted the Data Retention Directive. The directive is part of Norwegian law and part of the EEA Agreement. What is the Directive about? Norway is required to monitor and store data and telecommunications for at least 6 months and a maximum of 2 years. What is stored?





It`s stored when you called, who you called and where you were when you called, what equipment you are calling from and more. But it will not be stored what is being said. In addition to SMS, emails, and phone contacts, it can be monitored and stored by service providers such as Telenor, Netcom, etc. The intention is that it will be easier for the police to get hold of criminals, both in Norway and abroad. Opponents believe that privacy is violated by the law. All are potential criminals, and everything you do on the internet and telephony is being stored. Where you go, who you talk with and whom you send e-mails to are stored.
But It is required that there must be a suspicion of a crime against specific persons and there must be a court injunction to get the new information provided. The sentence must be up to three years to get access to data stored.




Both and the Czech Republic has concluded that the directive is in conflict with the laws. This is because that the right to confidential correspondence is not preserved, and that it is against the constitution. Also the German Supreme Court has been been suspicious of the way the directive is implemented in attempted German constitution.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property (IP) refers to Creations of the mind: Inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs unusual in commerce. (Source: wipo.int)
Intellectual Property covers mainly two areas:
1) industrial property-patents, trademarks, industrial patterns, geography indication to sources.
2) Copyright literary and artistic works such as novels, poems, drama, film, painting, design, photography, sculptures.




For me it's mainly music I think in the connection with IP. On web 2.0, you can download and share music that others have created. File sharing such as BitTorrent, LimeWire and Piratbay are programs that allow free download. Is this legal or illegal?





Much of the downloadable music and other software is illegal, to share with friends online. You can get fined and go to jail for up to 3 years. He who has created the music has not given his consent to this, and gets no paid for the work. It can be difficult to live off making music or programs because of this.





But there are ways to download music legal. You pay for the song you download, or for the entire album.

I do not think the problem is knowing what is legal and not legal to download. People know that. Many have pointed to the solution to block file sharing as a way to end the problem. I do not think this is the way to go. Napster is an example of this. Napster was closed, and the people who created Napster was brought to trial and lost the case. Napster was shut down for a period, while other networks occurred or continued with their activities.

I think information and campaigns can be the way to go to educate people about the consequences of piracy for the copyright owner and the consumer.
What about music that is downloaded? Can it be used freely? Can you use it on a website on the internet or other public places. The answer is no. In private use you can do as you want, but if the music is used in public, there are other rules. In Norway, TONO protects authors and music publisher's rights. Since Norway is affiliated with the Berne Convention and the Berne Convention's provisions are implemented in the Copyright Act for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and through reciprocity agreements with similar companies in other countries, administers TONO in practice throughout the world repertoire. The law gives the author the exclusive right to work and agree to use the work in the public when the work is performed outside private area. The exclusive right lasts for 70 years after the author's death. Provisions of the Convention are effectively implemented in the Copyright Act. Tono can allow to use the music outside private area against payment. This must be done between Tono and those who will use the music. Tono collects compensation for performance of music by applicable rules. Considerations are different, it is depended on if the music is performed or played in a shop, hotel, cafe, fitness center, television and radio, concerts, church services, etc. The money is then distributed to the licensees in the performed works.