DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2008/69)
issued by COI News Distribution Service. 13 March 2009
The Government
today invited views on the role a 'digital rights
agency' should play in protecting and promoting the legal use
of copyright content online, and how industry, consumer groups and
government can work together to create an environment where
investment in creativity is rewarded.
Creators, commercial rights-holders and consumer groups are all
asked to respond to a discussion paper exploring the potential
benefits of a new agency and the impact it would have in combating
unlawful online file-sharing and piracy.
Minister of State for Intellectual Property, David Lammy
said:
"A properly worked out rights agency could be a
real step forward. We can't have a system where even
net-surfing 12 year olds have to understand copyright in order to
keep themselves and their parents safe within the law.
"The real prize here is a rights agency that sorts out the
complexities that keep consumers on the right side of the law, and
ensure artists get properly paid.
"We need to make it easier for consumers to do the right
thing. The internet has become an integral part of daily life.
You shouldn't need to be an underwriter to take out an
insurance policy, and you shouldn't need legal training to
surf the web."
Minister for Technology, Communications
and Broadcasting, Stephen Carter, said:
"Britain's creative industries are respected and
admired the world over and are hugely important to our national
competitiveness. But in the new digital age, copyright
infringement has become easier and more socially acceptable, so
it's clear we need some form of legislative backstop for the
protection of rights as well as new and innovative ways to access
legal content."
He added:
"Today we have published proposals in the form of a Straw
Man on digital rights. That Straw Man could be torched, tolerated
or a touchstone for the start point of constructive debate and
design. I for one hope it is the latter."
Key issues raised in the discussion paper published by the
Intellectual Property Office today include:
* How to educate and change consumer behaviour towards copyright
material;
* How to support industry efforts in developing new
and attractive legal ways for consumers to access content
*
How to support legislation to address consumer activity that
breaches civil copyright law and how to tackle persistent
infringement;
* How to enable technical copyright-support
solutions that work for both consumers and content creators;
*
Whether or not the Agency should be an independent industry body
with back-up legal powers held by Ofcom
* How such an agency
can be funded
All these issues will be publicly addressed in a discussion forum
later this spring but comments are welcome before then.
The concept of a 'digital rights agency' was initially
recommended in the Digital Britain Interim report, published at
the end of January. The report represents an ambitious and
strategic plan to accelerate growth in the digital industries and
cement the UK's position as a world leader for innovation,
investment and quality.
For more information please contact: James Thomson at IPO press
office 0207 5966 547 or Una Flynn at BERR press office 0207 215 5256
Notes to Editors
1. The Straw Man is a joint initiative between the Department for
Business, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It can be viewed
here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/digitalbritain.pdf
2. Comments on the Rights Agency discussion paper should be
forwarded to DBR@ipo.gov.uk by 30 March 2009
3. The Digital Britain Interim Report was published on 29
January. The full report can be viewed here http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/5631.aspx
4. Action 11 of the Digital Britain report stated: "By the
time the final Digital Britain report is published the Government
will have explored with interested parties the potential for a
Rights Agency to bring industry together to agree how to provide
incentives for legal use of copyright material; work together to
prevent unlawful use by consumers which infringes civil copyright
law; and enable technical copyright-support solutions that work
for both consumers and content creators. The Government also
welcomes other suggestions on how these objectives should be achieved."
5. Action 12 stated: "Before the full Digital Britain Report
is published we will explore with both distributors and
rights-holders their willingness to fund, through a modest and
proportionate contribution, such a new approach to civil
enforcement of copyright within the legal frameworks applying to
electronic commerce, copyright, data protection and privacy to
facilitate and co-ordinate an industry response to this challenge.
It will be important to ensure that this approach covers the need
for innovative legitimate services to meet consumer demand, and
education and information activity to educate consumers in fair
and appropriate uses of copyrighted material as well as
enforcement and prevention work."
6. This ideas paper does not represent the formal consultation on
the legislative proposals contained under Action 13 of the DBR.
Comments about this paper will help inform a separate consultation
on Action 13, to be issued shortly.
7. Civil infringement of digital copyright material has a
significant detriment on creative industries (see House of
Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Committee, 5th report
(2007), ranging from loss of income from sales to longer term
investment in the industry.