The 2005 amendment to the Finnish Copyright Act and Criminal Code, commonly known as Lex Karpela, was an amendment to make the Finnish

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 copyright

Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

 legislation and criminal code comply with the EU Copyright Directive 2001/29/EC. It was presented to the President of Finland by Culture Minister Tanja Karpela.

The amendment was accepted by the Finnish parliament in a vote on October 5, 2005. It came into effect on January 1, 2006.

Purpose

The purpose of the amendment was to update the copyright legislation for the special features of digital and network environments, and apply the changes required by the EU Copyright Directive. The amendment additionally includes national legislation solutions independent of the directive.

The main features of the amendment are:

• Unauthorized file sharing can be punished as a crime, even though it wouldn't be done for profit.
• Downloading illegal copies on the Internet will be prohibited. Downloading for personal use won't be punished, but it may lead to claims for damages, if the copier knows or should have known that the source is illegal.
• Importing illegally manufactured works and material is prohibited.
• Circumventing copy prevention measures (i.e. DRM
  Digital rights management
  Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
  
  ) to copy a work is prohibited. Circumventing the protection to watch or listen to the work is still legal.
• Works bought from outside the European Economic Area
  European Economic Area
  The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
  
   may be distributed only if the first sale inside EEA was accepted by the author. A work bought for personal use may be distributed as before.
• Archives, libraries and museums may produce copies of works for internal use using whatever technique necessary. Showing the work on a computer screen inside the facility is allowed.
• Works may be copied using special techniques for people with disabilities
  Disability
  A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
  
   without permission.
• A published work may be presented publicly in services of worship
  Service of worship
  In the Protestant denominations of Christianity, a service of worship is a meeting whose primary purpose is the worship of God. The phrase is normally shortened to service. It is also commonly called a worship service...
  
   and education without permission.

Prohibition of circumventing copy protection

The section 50 a § of the new law prohibits copying works for personal use if the work is protected by an "effective technical measure". Even an effective protection may be circumvented to watch or listen to the work, though.

The restriction has been a subject of controversy and the interpretation is yet to see. Open questions are e.g. whether it's legal to circumvent a copy protection to convert the work to a format usable on a portable MP3 player, or whether a copy-protected CD can be reproduced as a standards-compliant audio CD to listen to it on a car radio.

Freedom of speech

Section 50 b § mainly prohibits distributing products or services that make possible or facilitate the circumvention of copy protection. The preamble says that offering these services in an organized or commercial manner would be the kind of distribution that the law refers to. This has been seen as restricting the freedom of speech

Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...

.

Reception

A demonstration

Demonstration (people)

A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...

against the bill was held in the afternoon of October 4, 2005. According to an estimate by the police, roughly 300 people participated. Almost all attendees were young adults and all political youth organizations from political right to left supported the demonstration.

External links

• Digitoday's reports on the processing of the bill
• The bill HE 28/2004
• The preamble of the amendment