Category: regulation
-
A Humane Approach to Copyright Term
As the increasingly frantic public domain regurgitation business trawls through 1942 deaths of authors and composers (sadly we shall have to wait another 4 years for a copyright free revival of Chu Chin Chow unless someone wants to set the lyrics to new tunes), it seemed the right time of year to offer a different…
-
Yet Another Private Internet
Lobbyists sometimes try to simplify issues, for policy makers and for grassroots and other supporters, and one of the most potent ideas surrounding Internet policy is that what you don’t like will ‘break the Internet’. Here’s John Naughton neatly encapsulating this approach for the UK’s Guardian newspaper in a comment on SOPA/PIPA early in 2012:…
-
What Happened to Vint Cerf?
This August, 2012, on FT.com Vint Cerf was quoted in an article about the upcoming UN discussions over Internet governance. But Mr Cerf says that pricing structures are antithetical to the internet as they could stifle innovation. “When Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google, they didn’t have to go and cut a deal with…
-
Orphans Don’t Belong in Collective Farms
The case for exemptions from copyright for some limited purposes, such as preserving our cultural heritage, or advancing scholarship, is surely uncontroversial. Who would really argue that old photographs or diaries, letters home, and the ephemera of life should not be allowed to become a window into past times or important events. With some minimal…
-
How Art Changes the Architecture of the Internet
Reading Neelie Kroes’ recent blog post on net neutrality (link updated Dec 2017) reminded me of a startling presentation that was given to Nanog in 2009 (I was not there so was thankful that the slides were made available here) which brought into focus some vague ideas I have been thinking about for the last few…
-
Some Numbers In The Digital Music Industry
There are now very few barriers to entry in the digital music industry, if you are lucky enough to be middle class in a developed economy. Production tools are essentially free if you have a computer; broadband connects you to a number of service providers that can put you on sale. Even if you have…
-
Hooper’s DCE Probe is Artists’ Best Hope for Transparency
While there will be a lot of whining about yet more reviews and enquiries, the latest phase in music’s troubled relationship with Government represents the best and perhaps only hope for artists to reset the relationship with their record label partners. It’s likely to be ‘use it or lose it’, because the infrastructure changes being…
-
A Simple Suggestion for Copyright Policymakers
This simple suggestion is offered to copyright policymakers around the world. Copyright economies are complex. So complex that your most carefully designed reforms are likely to have consequences you could not foresee, and may even damage the sectors or people you intended to help. But this does not mean that policymakers are powerless to effect…
-
Unlicensed Downloading Not a Problem in Switzerland
Unlicensed downloading is just as widespread in Switzerland as it is in most well connected and wealthy countries. Being outside of the European Union however allows the Swiss Government to take its own legal and regulatory path. And the Federal Council has just concluded that filesharing and unlicensed downloading are not a problem. Here’s a…
-
Unreasonable and Discriminatory Licensing in Online Music
Some time ago I was asked to provide a note that could be circulated to European ISPs about some of the practices employed by music copyright owners which, in my view, represented obstacles to the growth and health of the online music market. A recent discussion on the Pho mailing list prompted me to dig…