An open letter from Boards.ie to Minister Sean Sherlock

squod

Got the same stock response from Ray Butler TD, up here in Meath. I sent back a copy of devore's open letter. Are we getting through???

Don't know enough of the ins and outs of the SI to debate this face to face with a politician like. I do bump into them from time to time.

meglome

Dav wrote: »

I got the same stock response from my local FG TD (Catherine Byrne, Dublin South Central). I don't have a huge issue with receiving a stock answer on the issue, but it's a little disappointing that some of the other points I rased in my email (I based it off the template, but spoke specifically about the threat this law poses to my job as well as our site) weren't addressed. So far it's the only response I have received. I also offered all my TDs an opportunity to post a statement on Boards to their constituents on their behalf (call it a perk of the job), so I'm waiting to see who else answers and if any of them take me up on the offer.

Lucky you... I haven't had any response from anyone, including Sherlock.

unkymo

No response from any of my TDs in North Kerry, sent an e-mail yesterday afternoon.

antoinolachtnai

squod wrote: »

Don't know enough of the ins and outs of the SI to debate this face to face with a politician like. I do bump into them from time to time.

Don't worry about having to debate with them. The important thing is that you show up and say that this is important and that a vote is at stake. That means a lot to TDs. Leave some paperwork if you feel you need to, but if there are any complicated questions, refer them to the Stop SOPA Ireland team, and we will happily send out our team of burly negotiators to explain the fine details.

red face dave

No reply from anyone in the midlands either emails sent yesterday

Sheeps

Sent an email to all Dublin South Central TD's.

Poor Uncle Tom

johnnydenims wrote: »

anyone get a reply from waterford TD?

Stock response from John Halligan's office only, nothing from Ciara Conway, John Deasy or Paudie Coffey.

Heebie

The idea of having a good way to contact our TD's is great.. it's sorted by constituency.. but what do you do if you don't know what your constituency is... but you do know your address?

I can't find any cross-reference anywhere.

Crackle

There's a map of constituencies here http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/press/Consit_Maps_2007.pdf

anishboi

This is my appeal to anyone in the government who may influence this matter.

I'm writing to you to express my concern over junior Minister Sean Sherlock's proposed new law regarding copyright.

The issues and problems with this instrument have been clearly outlined to the minister by members of the opposition, industry bodies, legal firms, eminent professors of law, technical companies, entrepreneurs and businessmen. And as a democratic nation, where we value and acknowledge everyone's opinion before passing a law that concerns us all, I feel that every Irish citizen should have an equal say in this matter.

I am strongly against this new law for a number of reasons.

First of all, it's not going to achieve what it intends to achieve, even though it will negatively affect all of us. Being fairly knowledgeable about computers, I briefly understand how copyright pirates go about their work. And I can safely say that no matter what amendment is made to the law of Ireland, pirates and hackers will always find a way around it and manage to continue doing what they were doing before. Rather than punishing the entire population in an attempt to prevent the work of copyright pirates, we need to have policing strategies that directly catch and punish the hackers and pirates in particular. I find it unfair that due to the acts of the online criminals and the interests of industries directly affected by copyright laws, particularly the music industry, we as the general public take the hit and forfeit our free internet which we have harmlessly enjoyed for years.

Secondly, nowadays, people rely on the internet for many things, such as reference for facts and information, social networking, media and even online petitions such as the one that I signed today. The internet is a commodity that is used for many productive things, and should not be tampered with. It would certainly be a nightmare for me if I was doing a school project and I randomly decided to refer to Wikipedia for a certain fact, only to find that a certain page has been blocked on legal grounds. It would be a nightmare for me if I was chatting to a close friend on Facebook, and I decided to show him/her a video from a famous celebrity, only to find that it has been removed by some court order. The element of fun and enjoyment will be gone from the internet, and the internet will just become a place where we do essential things, such as send emails and documents, and nothing else. Where does that lead for us? What have we, spoken by just a random person from the Irish population, done wrong to deserve that? Like I mentioned before, the government needs to deal directly with the people who carry out the criminal activities and not those who just seek entertainment from the internet at no-one else's cost.

The final point that I wish to make is that the internet is an important economic activity in Ireland. We must keep in mind that we are in a difficult economic climate, and that we need to attract and offer incentives to foreign investment in Ireland, as they are one of the biggest contributors to our economy. Two of the biggest employers in Dublin are Facebook and Google, and they are directly influenced by any law that amends the online copyright policy. Many search results may be removed from Google and the whole element of social sharing will be lost in Facebook. Twitter are set to locate in Dublin shortly, creating more jobs for us. If we pass the law shortly after their arrival, what sort of first impression does it give them of us? How will they feel rewarded in return for benefit they are providing for our workforce?

I hope you take the time to consider all of these points carefully. I took a while to write this letter and I hope you take a moment to read it entirely as well. I am in the middle of my Leaving Cert year, and I don't have a lot of time nowadays, but this is an issue which has moved me to write to you and therefore urged me to take the time. Your consideration towards this will be something that I acknowledge carefully when deciding my future voting patterns. Even though I am still in school, I am 18 years of age and I have the right to vote.

You represent me and I would like to know what meaningful actions you are going to take on my behalf on this issue. I will presume that no answer or a stock answer means none.

Regards,
Anish

omega42

davehey79 wrote: »

Just got the same stock email reply as above from Fine Gael TD for Longford & Westmeath James Bannon.

got same reply

I replied with

Dear Mr Bannon,

It’s disappointing that the response I get from you, our elective official is a stock response issued by FG. It does seem that you are unwilling to have any thought about the purposed Statutory instruction other than the party line, which in my view begs the question as who you represent, the people that elected you or your party as both seem to be at odds about this matter.

I look forward to correspondence from yourself (and not just a stock email from FG)

Regards

Seamus Clarke

anishboi

If you are from the Sligo area, please see this thread and give me your thoughts on what you think.

Seeing as our emails to the TDs are just being responded to with stock replies, ie. not being considered seriously, it's time we take proper action that will actually force consideration for the people elected and represented by the TDs.

This thread may only concern people in or near the Sligo area and neighbouring counties, but I appeal to you all to either join me or do the same in your area.

As I said, proper action is necessary, action that forces change, let's not be nice people that can be kicked around on matters concerning and affecting all of us. Remember: DEMOCRACY It's worked until now, don't let it change.

Regards.

thebman

I didn't even get a stock response after using contact.ie and the boards.ie email templates.

Guess they are too busy for democracy :P

_AVALANCHE_

anishboi wrote: »

Remember: DEMOCRACY It's worked until now, don't let it change.

It's not doing Syria or Greece much good.

If the Gov want to put this through, a few e-mails or calling round won't change anything. It'll go through. How did it get to the stage where "the people" can be ignored?

Some crony somewhere will benefit nicely though putting in a system to block out all these pesky e-mails, it'll probably cost about 6million.

They're probably having a great laugh in the Dail Bar (on your Tab of course) at being able to spam people back with their own template now, bunch of clowns probably got in some speech writer at a grand an hour to write a few templates out for them.

Elections are to far away for them to give a toss if you tell them they've lost a vote + most people will have forgotten all about this a week after it's past, I'll never cease to be amazed how quick scandals are forgotten in this Country, quickly overshadowed by "Local Garda Stations have no Broadband":eek: Did ye hear about that?

90% (could be higher) of the people annoyed by this are so because they may now have to pay to see Transformers 3---> are under 25 and ironically wouldn't know how to vote as they never bothered to register.

Mention ACTA/SOPA/TPP to someone over 30 (with the Hope of learning more about it) and at best you'll get a good meme.




Can anyone tell me what SOPA (Ireland) contains that ACTA doesn't?

anishboi

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

anishboi wrote: »

Remember: DEMOCRACY It's worked until now, don't let it change.

It's not doing Syria or Greece much good.

If the Gov want to put this through, a few e-mails or calling round won't change anything. It'll go through. How did it get to the stage where "the people" can be ignored?

Some crony somewhere will benefit nicely though putting in a system to block out all these pesky e-mails, it'll probably cost about 6million.

They're probably having a great laugh in the Dail Bar (on your Tab of course) at being able to spam people back with their own template now, bunch of clowns probably got in some speech writer at a grand an hour to write a few templates out for them.

Elections are to far away for them to give a toss if you tell them they've lost a vote + most people will have forgotten all about this a week after it's past, I'll never cease to be amazed how quick scandals are forgotten in this Country, quickly overshadowed by "Local Garda Stations have no Broadband":eek: Did ye hear about that?

90% (could be higher) of the people annoyed by this are so because they may now have to pay to see Transformers 3---> are under 25 and ironically wouldn't know how to vote as they never bothered to register.

Mention ACTA/SOPA/TPP to someone over 30 (with the Hope of learning more about it) and at best you'll get a good meme.




Can anyone tell me what SOPA (Ireland) contains that ACTA doesn't?

It's not doing Syria or Greece any good. Look at the way they protest, they go and damage things that belong to other people for none of their fault.

I'm suggesting that we repeat exactly what they did about the matter in dublin on the 4th of February, except on a nationwide scale.

We do things peacefully.

squod

anishboi wrote: »

we need to have policing strategies that directly catch and punish the hackers and pirates in particular.

This has nothing to do with piracy and everything to do with an internet land grab by media companies.

_AVALANCHE_ wrote: »

90% (could be higher) of the people annoyed by this are so because they may now have to pay to see Transformers 3

I think you're missing the point. Of course there's going to be ''material'' the media companies want removed. It's as plain as the nose on your face that every second video on youtube is a copy.

Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber lyrics
Justin Bieber soundtrack
Justin Bieber cover
etc........

Media companies want control over your internet so they can sell it back to you.
The internet was given to you for free by it's creator. Control over it is worth billions to greedy media companies.

Cianos

gizmo555 wrote: »

IMO, the principal argument against it is the point I made in my version of the email to my local TDs:

I am not in any way opposed to copyright holders being given appropriate means in law to vindicate their property rights. Indeed, my profession of software engineering relies on proper protection being provided for intellectual property rights.

However, I am particularly concerned that Mr Sherlock appears deliberately to have drafted the proposed statutory instrument in an extremely vague and open-ended way, instead of doing his job as a legislator and providing clarity and certainty as to how the law will affect both individual citizens and business.

With respect, that doesn't answer my question in a way that I could use the info if I were to discuss it with someone.

You say the legislation is too vague - how so? Can I get a few bullet points on why this is a bad thing in practice?

expectationlost

anyone local got a reply from eamon gilmore td

charlemont

I just done the petition there and and the confirmation of messages sent reads that only 2071 e-mails have been sent using this system, That's an incredibly low number considering the reach boards has, Its fair to say the people are a bloody push over. No wonder they can pass any law they want when people will only moan and not actually do anything about it.

matrim

I replied to Eoghan Murphy asking about the proposed changes he is bringing to Sherlock. So far I only have a response from his assistant saying she will bring it to his attention but hopefully he will respond.

OhMSGlive

matrim wrote: »

I replied to Eoghan Murphy asking about the proposed changes he is bringing to Sherlock. So far I only have a response from his assistant saying she will bring it to his attention but hopefully he will respond.

Don't get your hopes up. I'm still waiting on a response from my TD's about it.

DeVore

Ask to meet them.... go to their clinics. Be polite and tell them your side of the story, believe me they will be interested. You are an engaged constituent of theirs, votes are their crack

gizmo555

Cianos wrote: »

With respect, that doesn't answer my question in a way that I could use the info if I were to discuss it with someone.

You say the legislation is too vague - how so? Can I get a few bullet points on why this is a bad thing in practice?

I recommend you take a look at TJ McIntyre's blog on IT Law in Ireland. TJ is a solicitor and lecturer in law at UCD. Read this post in particular, which explains the point better than I can. Here's the introduction to it:

"The law should be predictable as to what is mandated and what is forbidden"

One of the strongest arguments against the proposed copyright statutory instrument is that it is so vague as to make it impossible to predict what it might require of internet intermediaries. The proposal is entirely silent in relation to the most basic issues where one might expect clarity. What type of injunction might be granted? Site blocking? Three strikes? Deep packet inspection? Hash value blocking? What types of intermediaries might be affected - ISPs, search engines, hosting providers, cloud computing providers? Who will have to pay the legal costs of applications for injunctions? Who will have to pay the ongoing cost of implementing any injunction?

ecomac

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-16544335

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/01/24/is-this-the-real-reason-why-megaupload-was-shut-down/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16735219

And be aware that ACTA / PIPA / SOPA are not only about internet. This is more important:

http://theintelhub.com/2012/01/28/acta-the-legislation-that-makes-sopa-and-pipa-look-reasonable/

Beruthiel

My first reply to the e-mail I sent:

Many thanks for your email in relation to the above.

With regard to the points your raised regarding copyright law, it is important to be aware that Minister of State, Sean Sherlock TD, has not put forward any proposals to enact a Stop Online Piracy Type Law. Rather the need to now introduce legislation arises from a finding of the High Court in October 2010 that Ireland was not in compliance with its EU obligations under Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC. As non-compliance with EU Law is a very serious matter you can understand the need to address the matter.

I should make you aware of the fact that no policy change is proposed in the Statutory Instrument. Instead the intended purpose of the proposed Statutory Instrument is not to enact new EU legislation but merely to restate the position that was thought to exist in the Copyright legislation prior to Mr. Justice Charleton’s judgement in the case of EMI Ireland & others v. UPC in October 2010. As a result of this court ruling, the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 needed to be revised in order to provide civil remedies such as injunctions.

As a result of your interest in this matter, I am sure you are aware how last July Minister Sherlock held a public consultation in relation to the wording of a proposed Statutory Instrument amending Section 40 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000. More than 50 submissions were received from interested parties, providing an excellent overview of all the issues and concerns involved. I am wondering if you were in a position to forward a submission to the Minister at the time outlining your views? If so, perhaps you could send me a copy of same and I can again raise your concerns with the Minister.

In any case, I have taken on board you views in this regard and will bear them in mind in future discussions on this matter.

I hope this clarifies matters.

Anthony Lawlor TD

Nuttzz

My first reply

Many thanks for your email in relation to the signing of a statutory instrument by Minister Sean Sherlock regarding copyright law.

This issue has been raised with concern by a number of my constituents and I have contacted Minister Sherlock urging that he carefully re-examine his proposals.

I will be in contact with you again as soon as I have a reply to hand.

Yours sincerely

Eamonn Maloney T.D.

antoinolachtnai

Beruthiel,

Digital Rights Ireland made a submission and I would suggest you refer to this submission. This is something DRI has been working on for a long time, not something that suddenly came up last month.

You can find a copy at http://www.scribd.com/doc/78967355/Copyright-SI-Submission

RangeR

Beruthiel wrote: »

My first reply to the e-mail I sent:

I received the exact same response from him, just now. I'll formulate a personalised response as I only sent him the stock Boards email.

Tristram

Dear Tristram

Many thanks for your email in relation to the above.

With regard to the points your raised concerning copyright law, it is important to be aware that Minister of State, Sean Sherlock TD, has not put forward any proposals to enact a Stop Online Piracy Type Law. Rather the need to now introduce legislation arises from a finding of the High Court in October 2010 that Ireland was not in compliance with its EU obligations under Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC. As non-compliance with EU Law is a very serious matter you can understand the need to address the matter.

I should make you aware of the fact that no policy change is proposed in the Statutory Instrument. Instead the intended purpose of the proposed Statutory Instrument is not to enact new EU legislation but merely to restate the position that was thought to exist in the Copyright legislation prior to Mr. Justice Charleton’s judgement in the case of EMI Ireland & others v. UPC in October 2010. As a result of this court ruling, the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 needed to be revised in order to provide civil remedies such as injunctions.

As a result of your interest in this matter, I am sure you are aware how last July Minister Sherlock held a public consultation in relation to the wording of a proposed Statutory Instrument amending Section 40 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000. More than 50 submissions were received from interested parties, providing an excellent overview of all the issues and concerns involved. I am wondering if you were in a position to forward a submission to the Minister at the time outlining your views? If so, perhaps you could send me a copy of same and I can again raise your concerns with the Minister.

In any case, I have taken on board you views in this regard and will bear them in mind in future discussions on this matter.

I hope this clarifies matters.

Kind regards

Anthony Lawlor TD

More than a few of us.

Chrizfitz

Tristram wrote: »

More than a few of us.

+1