Blog
28 Feb 2013 By Jim Killock
Court blocking orders lack transparency
Blocking is an extreme response, which will encourage new forms of distributed infringement.
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18 Feb 2013 By Jabed Tarapdar
BPI set to block three more BitTorrent sites
BPI, which acts on behalf of rights holders, calls for ISPs to block access to Fenopy, H33t and Kickass Torrents.
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14 Feb 2013 By Peter Bradwell
Will MEPs sell out your privacy rights?
Policy makers in the EU are currently considering a ground breaking new privacy law.
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05 Feb 2013 By Peter Bradwell
Golden Eye write to alleged copyright infringers
Just under 1,000 broadband subscribers in the UK received letters in December from O2 or Be Broadband, saying that the company is passing on their name and address details to a company called Golden Eye.
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04 Feb 2013 By Peter Bradwell
Even more delays to the Digital Economy Act
Maybe it is cursed.
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30 Jan 2013 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
The Coalition’s New Year’s resolution list
They are a bit late sending them through, but luckily the Government have passed us their new year’s resolution list to look over, and we thoroughly approve:
1.
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30 Jan 2013 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
The Coalition’s New Year’s resolution list
They are a bit late sending them through, but luckily the Government have passed us their new year’s resolution list to look over, and we thoroughly approve:
1.
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30 Jan 2013 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
The Coalition’s New Year’s resolution list
They are a bit late sending them through, but luckily the Government have passed us their new year’s resolution list to look over, and we thoroughly approve:
1.
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30 Jan 2013 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
The Coalition’s New Year’s resolution list
They are a bit late sending them through, but luckily the Government have passed us their new year’s resolution list to look over, and we thoroughly approve:
1.
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24 Jan 2013 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
What is the Government’s online child protection policy?
I would prefer to be writing an article with a headline that doesn’t have a question mark at the end.
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02 Jan 2013 By Peter Bradwell
Online gift shop blocked by mobile networks
[Update 10th January 2013] The blocks on the website has now been removed.
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21 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
More freedoms to use copyrighted works: it’s not the end of the world
Yesterday the Government announced its plans to implement the recommendations of the Hargreaves Review – namely, how it will put in place various exceptions to copyright that permit more uses of copyrighted work.
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21 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Court of Appeal allows Golden Eye appeal
This morning the Court of Appeal handed down their judgment in the appeal by the firm Golden Eye.
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Digital Privacy
20 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Confusion over parental Internet controls
Five days ago, the Department for Education announced a very reasonable approach to child protection online.
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19 Dec 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
ORG Law Fund reaches its goal!
I am delighted to tell you that, thanks to your generosity we have now raised enough to be able to fund Open Rights Group’s first Legal Officer.
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Digital Privacy
17 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Another church blocked by mobile networks
About this time last year we wrote about a church that had been blocked by O2’s mobile Internet filters.
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12 Dec 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Come along to our MP Lobby Day
The Joint Committee’s report on the Comms Data Bill was clear and crushing.
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Digital Privacy
12 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
How the Home Office let their Minister down
A week ago the Home Secretary said that anybody opposed to the draft Communications Data Bill was ‘putting politics before lives’.
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11 Dec 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Joint Committee slams Home Office’s Snoopers’ Charter
At 00:01 last night, almost exactly 14 days before Christmas, the Joint Committee on the draft Communications Data Bill delivered an early present.
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10 Dec 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
ORG Law Fund: Nearly there!
Across November we’ve been running our ORG Law Fund campaign to gain 150 new supporters – enough to fund a part-time Legal Officer for ORG.
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06 Dec 2012 By Jim Killock
Nearly there: £550 needed for GoldenEye appeal!
Update 7 December: we have .
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05 Dec 2012 By Jim Killock
BPI remove PromoBay.org from Pirate Bay block list
The BPI have this afternoon confirmed to us that they have asked ISPs to unblock PromoBay.
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03 Dec 2012 By Jim Killock
PromoBay block
Promo Bay is republishing entirely legal content that nevertheless originates from the Pirate Bay.
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03 Dec 2012 By Lee Maguire
Tales of the Unexpected: the Communications Data Bill
We await with interest the report from the joint committee on the draft Communications Data Bill, and trust the committee has properly considered the substantial evidence submitted.
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Digital Privacy
30 Nov 2012 By Jim Killock
Data protection debate at MoJ
Yesterday I attended the first of the Department of Justice’s Advisory panel meetings on the new Data Protection regulation laws being proposed at the EU.
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26 Nov 2012 By Peter Bradwell
ORG granted permission to intervene in Golden Eye appeal
We’re delighted to announce that we have been granted permission to intervene in the appeal by Golden Eye International.
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21 Nov 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Google shopping and legal markets for digital goods
Something has always confused me about the market for digital goods online.
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20 Nov 2012 By Jim Killock
ORG wins Human Rights Campaigner of the Year with 38 Degrees
On Monday evening at the 2012 Liberty Human Rights Awards ceremony, the Open Rights Group won Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award, jointly awarded to us and 38 Degrees.
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19 Nov 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Why your friends should join Open Rights Group
Friend Sign-up Scheme Tips
As part of our ORGLawFund drive to fund a Legal Officer, we’re offering thank you gifts of Rapture of the Nerds by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross, Raspberry Pis and MakeyMakeys to our paying supporters who sign-up multiple friends to ORG as part of our ORGLawFund drive.
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Digital Privacy
17 Nov 2012 By Jim Killock
Victory in sight: government signals climb down from “default” filtering?
According to reports this Saturday in the Daily Mail and Telegraph, David Cameron will be asking ISPs to ask customers if they have children, and if so, help them install filtering technology.
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15 Nov 2012 By Peter Bradwell
ORG applies to intervene in Golden Eye case – and we need your help
We want to do more to promote digital rights like privacy through interventions in relevant court cases.
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14 Nov 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
ORG Law Fund campaign update
We launched our campaign to fund a new legal position for ORG on the 2nd November with two main goals:
Goal 1: 150 new supporters
This will allow us to launch our legal project and hire a part-time Legal Officer to work in ORG’s office
Goal 2: 300 new supporters
This will allow us to fund a Legal Officer full-time
We are now 25% of the way towards Goal 1!
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14 Nov 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Come to our Snooper’s Charter campaign event!
On Saturday 24th November we’re running a big campaigning event on the Snooper’s Charter, jointly with Index on Censorship.
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02 Nov 2012 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
ORG is ready for legal action
Today ORG have launched a new campaign to fund a legal project which will allow us to create new case law and lead on bringing digital rights issues to the courts.
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Digital Privacy
01 Nov 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Getting the facts straight in the parental controls debate
Yesterday there was a Westminster Hall debate about the responsibilities of Internet companies.
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29 Oct 2012 By Jim Killock
ORG says IP Committee has missed the point
Reacting to the All Parliamentary Intellectual Property Group‘s report, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:
“We welcome the group’s desire for evidence based policy but think this sits ill with its’ call to move the Intellectual Property Office to the Department of Culture Media and Sport, which has had a dire record of inventing policy initiatives without a shred of evidence.
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12 Oct 2012 By Peter Bradwell
DEAct: Concerns about copyright infringement evidence gathering
Consumer Focus have today written to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) about the way the MPAA collect evidence of copyright infringement by individuals on P2P networks.
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11 Oct 2012 By Jim Killock
Party conferences and the Comms Data Bill
ORG ran two sessions this year, with Big Brother Watch, at the Lib Dem and Labour conferences.
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09 Oct 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Don’t make me laugh
Yesterday Matthew Woods was given 12 weeks in a youth offenders institution for posting jokes about the missing 5 year old girl April Jones (see Padraig Reidy’s write up of this yesterday on the Index on Censorship blog).
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03 Oct 2012 By Jim Killock
Digital Economy Act: Costs Order debate pulled
Open Rights Group has just learnt that the debate in the Lords scheduled for Monday, in the Moses Room, to discuss the DEA Costs Order has been pulled.
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24 Sep 2012 By Jim Killock
CleanIT: bad policy making
Thanks to an EDRi leak, European proposals for widespread action against “terrorism” were revealed last week, with press coverage in the Telegraph and elsewhere.
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07 Sep 2012 By Peter Bradwell
When content is noticed and taken down – have your say
Due to some problems with their website, the European Commission have extended the deadline for submissions to the ‘notice and takedown’ consultation.
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05 Sep 2012 By Jim Killock
Bruce Willis: one thing is true
The story that Bruce Willis was to sue Apple because he could not leave his MP3s in his will circulated round the UK press last weekend.
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24 Aug 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Privacy advocates write to Interception of Communications Commissioner
Today ORG, Liberty, Privacy International, Big Brother Watch and Professor Ross Anderson of University of Cambridge will write to the Interception of Communications Commissioner to ask about apparent mistakes in his 2011 report into how effective the RIPA oversight regime is.
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07 Aug 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Initial Obligations Code needs rewriting. Again.
Last week, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey MP wrote to ORG, explaining how he understood the position of libraries and universities under the revised ‘Initial Obligations Code’.
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06 Aug 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Consulympics: opportunities to have your say on tech policies
You may have noticed that there is currently an international sporting event going on in London.
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01 Aug 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Creators and mergers in the music business
There are some big changes afoot in the music industry at the moment.
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27 Jul 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Calls for Ofcom to try again with the Digital Economy Act ‘Code’
Yesterday was deadline day for Ofcom’s consultation on the revised ‘Initial Obligations Code’ – the instrument that sets out how the Digital Economy Act will work in practice.
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24 Jul 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Tell Ofcom to fix the threat to wifi
Ofcom are running a consultation on a new version of the ‘Initial Obligations Code‘.
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Digital Privacy
18 Jul 2012 By Jim Killock
Snooper’s Charter: a Bill without a proposal
Yesterday’s hearings on the proposed Communications Data Bill provided for some hilarity, as Professor Glees laid into the “civil liberties lobby” and made quite outrageous claims for the need for increased surveillance to reduce criminality.
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13 Jul 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Lords Committee knocks Digital Economy Act Costs Order
Digital Economy Act time.
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12 Jul 2012 By Jim Killock
Opposing mass data surveillance
Yesterday, I attended the Joint Committee hearings examining the Communications Data Bill – aka the Snooper’s Charter – on behalf of the Open Rights Group.
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04 Jul 2012 By Jim Killock
ACTA: you won!
Today, the European Parliament resoundingly voted against ACTA!
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02 Jul 2012 By James Booth
ACTA: We’re almost there!
Update 2012-07-04: The European Parliament voted to reject ACTA (478-to-39).
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21 Jun 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Another key committee votes against ACTA!
This morning the MEPs in the INTA committee voted 19-12 in favour of David Martin MEP’s opinion recommending ACTA be rejected.
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19 Jun 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Help us win another crucial ACTA vote: call your MEP!
UPDATE: Thursday 21st June.
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18 Jun 2012 By Jim Killock
Board election result
Thank you everyone for participating and helping with the election, but especially Rob Myers and David Gerard for conducting the count and Lee Maguire for preparing OpenSTV to process the data; Terence Eden for helping on the elections committee and Francis Davey for his help and advice.
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Digital Privacy
13 Jun 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Update on reported BT block of Black Triangle campaign website
Earlier this week TechWeekly reported the campaign group Black Triangle had complained that their site was being blocked by BT.
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29 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Your MEPs can help stop ACTA this week
*UPDATE* May 31st 2012: All three committees (JURI, ITRE and LIBE) today voted against ACTA.
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Digital Privacy
28 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Reporting ‘over-blocking’ to mobile operators
Since we published our report ‘Mobile Internet censorship: what’s happening and what to do about it‘, jointly with LSE Media Policy project, a number of people have been in touch with us asking what to do if they discover their site is blocked incorrectly by mobile networks’ child protection filters.
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23 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
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23 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
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23 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
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23 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
Is the government’s transparency agenda hitting the rocks?
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21 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Board elections and Supporter Council
Board elections: ballots in the post
Ballot papers and booklets with the candidates’ statements are now in the post and you should receive yours shortly.
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Digital Privacy
18 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
New reports of overblocking on mobile networks
Since we launched our new research about Mobile Internet censorship on Monday, there’s been a rise in the number of reports to our website Blocked.
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14 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Mobile Internet censorship: what’s happening and what to do
Today we’re launching a new report called “Mobile internet censorship: what’s happening and what we can do about it“, which is a joint publication with LSE Media Policy Project.
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10 May 2012 By Jim Killock
Can you help stop the Snoopers’ Charter?
The “Snoopers’ Charter”: the Communications Data Bill is about to be published by the government.
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Digital Privacy
04 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Peace advocates’ website is blocked as porn on UK mobile networks
The past few days have seen a lot of attention given to the neo Mary Whitehouse campaign for default censorship.
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03 May 2012 By Jim Killock
We don’t have to choose between freedom and copyright
The court orders for the Pirate Bay blocking notice say that:
IP address blocking is generally only appropriate where the relevant website’s IP address is not shared with anyone else.
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03 May 2012 By Peter Bradwell
The ‘spirit of transparency’ haunts the copyright roundtables
With all the waiting (and the waiting, and the waiting – so much of the waiting) for the Communications Green Paper, it has been easy to forget that DCMS have been continuing their meetings with rights holders and intermediaries about voluntary co-regulation agreements to tackle copyright infringement online.
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Digital Privacy
01 May 2012 By Jim Killock
What they want is control
If you want to know how bad things are getting, look no further than the confused conversation on Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning.
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25 Apr 2012 By Javier Ruiz
UK new co-chair of the Open Government Partnership
In April 2012 representatives from 55 governments and hundreds of delegates from civil society gathered in Brazilia for the second annual meeting of the Open Government Partnership.
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23 Apr 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Open standards in government: one week to make it happen
Update 2012-04-26: The deadline has now been extended to Monday, 4th June 2012.
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16 Apr 2012 By Jim Killock
ACTA Edinburgh: David Martin’s views
Last Friday, David Martin MEP organised a seminar on ACTA in the EU Parliament’s Edinburgh offices.
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10 Apr 2012 By Richard King
How to set up a Local Group
I attended the local-groups session at ORGCon a few weekends ago.
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03 Apr 2012 By Jim Killock
Surveillance plans: key questions
ORG has been following the CCDP plans for two years, as they have crept up through policy papers, government statements and budget plans.
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27 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
A blow for speculative invoicing?
Yesterday the ruling in the Golden Eye case was handed down.
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24 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
On the day ORGCon video!
If you’re looking for videos from today’s incredible ORGCon extravaganza…go over to visionOn ORGCon tv video page!
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23 Mar 2012 By Jim Killock
Board nominations
I have received the following valid nominations, to elect three Board members for a term of three years:
Wayne Myers
Seb Schmoller
Ryan Jendoubi
Richard King
Owen Blacker
Milena Popova
John Elliott
Gervase Markham
Dave Levy
We are now fixing the election timetable.
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22 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
How will the government promote rights online?
Julian Huppert MP has asked the government a couple of very interesting questions about what they are doing to support or promote freedom of expression and other fundamental rights in the UK.
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21 Mar 2012 By Krean Naicker
Home Office replies to ORG about Richard O’Dwyer extradition
Following the decision in Richard O’Dwyer’s court case, we wrote to the Home secretary regarding his possible extradition, expressing concern about the exertion of jurisdiction by the US.
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20 Mar 2012 By Jim Killock
ORG Board nominations extended until Thursday 10pm
Following my letter to ORG supporters on Monday, we have had a flurry of nominations requests.
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19 Mar 2012 By Javier Ruiz
Community calls for free open data in consultation
The government published today their response to the consultation on a Public Data Group that will consolidate Ordnance Survey, Land Registry, Met Office and Companies House into a single data provider.
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16 Mar 2012 By Nishma Doshi
Lessig, Doctorow, Seltzer – ORGCon tickets selling fast!
ORGCon tickets are selling out fast!
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14 Mar 2012 By Javier Ruiz
Response to Open Data article in The Guardian
The Guardian published quite a good article today in relation to a public announcement on Open Data by Francis Maude, and we wrote a response highlighting some issues they missed:
Charles
While the advances since 2006 are undeniable, the comment above shows there is a long way to go.
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14 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
One week to win a new right to parody
The Government is running a consultation asking how it should change copyright law.
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13 Mar 2012 By Chris Taggart
An open letter to Vince Cable
Dear Mr Cable
I read with interest yesterday your letter to the Prime Minister about some of the issues facing the UK in the future, and in particular the need for a vision and for a connected approach across government.
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09 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Speculative invoicing 2: Golden Eye in court
This morning I was in court to see Golden Eye seek a Norwich Pharmacal Order (NPO) against Telefonica UK (known to you and I as O2).
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08 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
‘Speculative invoicing’ returns
A court decision tomorrow may have a big impact on how the Digital Economy Act works.
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05 Mar 2012 By Jim Killock
Board elections 2012
Today, we are formally opening the second elections to the Open Rights Group’s Board.
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02 Mar 2012 By Peter Bradwell
What DCMS should learn from ACTA and SOPA
You could make a pretty convincing case at the moment that the European Parliament has more to say about democratic policy making than our own Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
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Digital Privacy
15 Feb 2012 By Alessandra Cappuccini and Gemma Craggs
Orange UK blocking La Quadrature du Net
Through reports to the blocked.
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15 Feb 2012 By Peter Bradwell
SOCA seizure
This morning we confirmed with the Serious and Organised Crime Agency that the apparent takeover of rnbxclusive.
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14 Feb 2012 By Peter Bradwell
The IPO, DCMS and bad copyright policy
Last Tuesday, Peter Wishart MP held a Westminster Hall debate about intellectual property.
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13 Feb 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Stop ACTA London demo
On Saturday Open Rights Group joined the London Stop ACTA protest, which drew several hundred people to a freezing central London.
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08 Feb 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Campaigners: we need right to parody
Open Rights Group and a coalition of campaigning organisations (Greenpeace, Action Aid, Global Poverty Project, Church Action on Poverty, and Campaign Against the Arms Trade) have today written to Baroness Wilcox at the Department for Business, Industry and Skills to highlight how, in the absence of a parody ‘exception’, copyright affects our ability to campaign as effectively as possible.
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03 Feb 2012 By Peter Bradwell
Help the “Stop ACTA” London demo
We’re supporting a demonstration against ACTA, which will take place in central London a week on Saturday, on 11th February.
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