Today, French MPs voted in the first article of a new copyright infringement bill (original article in French) that imposes severe sanctions on users circumventing Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems.

Suppliers of software or methods used to disable DRM systems will be liable for six months of imprisonment and a EURO30,000 ($36,102) fine. Individual 'hackers' who manage to break copy protection systems will not risk jail time, but they will be subject to a EURO3,750 ($4,513) fine. Finally, end users who either own or use third-party software designed to circumvent copy protection will be subject to a EURO750 ($903) fine. Fortunately, the article does make an exception for users who break DRM "for interoperability purposes, or for the regular use of acquired rights to content." While the new law does seem somewhat drastic, there is no word yet on how the French government plans to enforce it.