Finnish Parliament to consider crowdsourced copyright law revisions

Finland is all set to be the first country in the world where the Parliament will be mulling over and voting on a crowdsourced copyright law that aims to be fair and just. The proposal aims to create a more reasonable copyright law in the country.

The crowdsourced proposal obtained 50,000 Finnish votes – a prerequisite to be considered – only a day before the deadline. It will now be voted upon by the Finnish Parliament. Called “The Common Sense in Copyright Act”, the proposal will look to present a citizens point of view on matters such as piracy and file-sharing. Even while the proposal has made its way to the Parliament, there is no way of saying that it will or will not be made into law in its current form.

Writing history (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The proposal seeks to decriminalise file-sharing and will press for legalising the copying of items that a person already possesses. Currently, indulging in piracy in the country is treated as a very serious offence and warrants searching and seizing of property as well as heavy fines. Last year, the country drew flak for having raided and seized a Winnie the Pooh laptop belonging to a nine-year-old after a sharing allegation.

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Open Ministry, the organisation that coordinates public proposals in the country, admitted to TorrentFreak that “The Common Sense in Copyright” is a success story for the country, breaking from old tradition where lobbyists would be in charge of drafting copyright laws. “Members of Parliament are quite open about the fact, that Copyright Laws are handed down to them from the international lobbyists. If we do not push back, they will keep on rubber-stamping harsh legislation and infringing on consumer rights," said Joonas Pekkanen, Chairman of Open Ministry.