New EU Laws on Airline Passenger Rights

EU — New EU legislations have been passed requiring airlines across Europe to accept a package of passenger compensation rules that came into effect at the end of last month. Under the new legislations passengers on all flights departing from an EU airport or flying into the EU or on an EU airline, will be entitled to greater compensation for cancellations, delays and overbooking. The latest legislations apply to both budget and larger airlines.

Passengers denied boarding due to overbooking or delays caused by airline fault, will receive compensation of E250 for short-haul flights and rising up to E600 for long-haul flights. For flight cancellations, airlines will have to compensate passengers with meals, refreshments, overnight accommodation and transfer to hotel for free or find them alternative transport to their final destination. The legislation also provides compensation for passengers delayed by a few hours based on the number of hours and distance to be flown.

The impact of the latest legislation would be felt most by the budget airlines, as the compensation sums are a huge increase on their average fares. Budget airlines, Easyjet, believes the compensation airlines have to pay should be proportionate to the original fare. Easyjet says the European Commission, which framed the rules for the EU, failed to consult the industry and the result is a ‘bad piece of legislation’, which penalises airlines. ‘The new rules are going to be confusing to most passengers because compensation only applies in certain cases and the EU has totally failed to manage expectations on this front,’ it added. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

Amendments to Improve Petition System

China — The State Council has recently approved a revised regulation on citizen petitions, signalling the government’s determination to bring the petition system which will take effect on 1 May 2005 in line with the changing times and create a more harmonious society. The petition system, also known as the system of letters and visits, is a channel for people to air their complaints.

The revisions make sweeping changes to the old regulation, which was promulgated in 1995. An accountability system is being introduced that will require all petitions to be addressed within 60 days after acceptance. To increase efficiency and access to the system, citizens will be able to submit their petitions by letter, fax, e-mail or other written forms. To alleviate fears of repercussions, the amendments prohibit individuals and organisations from taking revenge on petitioners. Violators will face civil or criminal action. (Source: www.china.org.cn)

Copyright Management Bodies to be Permitted

China — A regulation on the collective management of copyrighted materials that better protects the interests of copyright owners throughout the nation has become law as of 1 March 2005. Under the 48-article regulation, such rights as hiring, performance, broadcasting, duplication and internet distribution which are all listed in the Copyright Law but often difficult for owners to manage effectively — can be entrusted to collective management organisation for protection. The regulation will also apply to foreign copyright owners doing business in China.

Under the new regulation, copyright holders may authorise management organisations to grant licences for use of their products. The organisations would also collect fees from users, distribute royalties to members and handle other related activities. Deputy Director, Yan Xiaohong of the National Copyright Administration, pointed out that rights to performance and broadcast are particularly difficult for individual copyright holders to control, while users may have difficulty obtaining permission from them. These issues would be better managed by the collective management organisation where procedures would be streamlined and compliance would be monitored. (Source: www.china.org.cn)

EU Software Patent Faces Axe

EU — The European Parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented. The bill that was backed by some hi-tech firms, saying they needed protection otherwise it wouldn’t be worthwhile to conduct research, had the bill unanimously rejected by politicians. Hugo Lueders, European director for public policy at CompTIA, an umbrella organisation for technology companies, said only when intellectual property was adequately protected would European inventors prosper. He further added that the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents.

Other proponents of the bill said that the bill was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the American system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software. However, opponents of the bill said that it could stifle innovation, be abused by firms keen to protect existing monopolies and hamper the growth of the open source movement.

To become law both the European Parliament and a qualified majority of EU states have to approve the draft wording of the bill. The latest rejection means that now the bill on computer inventions must go back to the EU for re-consideration. (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)