Copyright Law

SURVEY: UK Has World?s Worst Copyright Laws - ?By Far?

By soulxtc

Rated ?the worst, by far?? in a survey of 16 countries, beating the emerging economies of both Thailand and Argentina to last place, say Consumer Focus and the Open Rights Group.

According to Consumer Focus, a consumer advocate group, and the Open Rights Group, a grassroots technology organization, the UK’s copyright laws are the worst of the 16 countries examined in a recent survey.

The Consumer International survey, the inaugural Intellectual Property (IP) Watch List, examines the IP laws and enforcement practices of some 16 countries ? Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, UK, and the USA.

The survey looked at how well each country?s copyright law balances the interests of rights holders with those of consumers. Large Asian countries dominate the top positions with both India and South Korea both scoring highly.

It concludes:

UK copyright law is substantially different from that of other countries. It is generally very restrictive. Copyright is treated as property right (treated as ?tortuous invasions of property”) and hence copyright owners have the right to decide whether and how the copyrighted work is used. Also, UK copyright law does not protect ideas, it protects ?works.”

Ironically it was the UK that first developed copyright law as long ago as the 16th century, but while other nations evolved their laws in line with advances in technology, new media and everyday practice, the UK has singularly failed to keep up.

?UK copyright law is the oldest but also the most out of date,” said Ed Mayo, Chief Executive of Consumer Focus. “It?s time our copyright law caught up with the real world.”

?The current system puts unrealistic limits on our listening and viewing habits and is rapidly losing credibility among consumers. A broad ?Fair Use? exception would bring us in line with consumer expectations, technology and the rest of the world.?

Consumer Focus is calling for the Government to introduce of a broad ?Fair Use? exception to UK copyright law which would be able to adapt to new technical environments over time ? an approach already adopted by the US, who came fourth in the survey.

It also points out that millions of UK consumers are being needlessly criminalized by outdated IP laws. It’s currently a copyright violation to rip a CD that you own on to your PC or iPod ? even though over half (55%) of British consumers admit to doing it and three in five (59%) think this type of copying is perfectly legal.

“Rigid copyright stifles innovation and hurts citizens,” said Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group. “It’s no coincidence that Google set up in America, where ‘Fair Use’ rights make copyright more flexible. The UK government needs to grapple with this now, so that new UK industries can spring up and consumers can benefit.”

“It is ridiculous to ban copying, sampling and parody without payment, yet that is how the law stands today. The government is undermining copyright’s reputation by failing to give clear rights to users in a changed digital world, where we all rip, mix and burn. Copyright urgently needs reform, as this study shows.”

A ?Fair Use? exception to the law would protect copyright holders? exclusive rights, while providing exceptions to copying activities that cause no, or minimal economic harm to the rights holders. This would cover instances where consumers copy to: back up files; to view at a more convenient time (time shifting); to play on a different device (format shifting); or simply to share with family and friends.

Consumer Focus does not condone the sharing of content in violation of copyright, but considers the rise of this activity as an inevitable consequence of the formal digital market failing to meet consumer demands and needs. A ?Fair Use? exception would not allow widespread distribution of copyrighted material, even if for non-commercial reasons.

It would also cover ?user generated content? where material is reworked for new, ?non-commercial? purposes. Such content has an increasingly high social value ? not least to the ?You Tube generation?, which has discovered ?mash-ups? as a new, significant form of expression.

jared@zeropaid.com

Full post as published by ZeroPaid on April 20, 2009 (boomark / email).