[A2k] Spare parts for a position on alternative compensation systems

[Peter Eckersley]

Hi all...

a while ago, I tried drafting a succinct set of principles that a
universal private copying levy (or alternative compensation system or
virtual market etc) would have to satisfy in order for it to be sensible
policy.  The group I was doing this for didn't reach any consensus on
it, so it didn't go anywhere.

At this stage I'm not sure that I'm going to make it to Paris :(, but
perhaps if the meeting is leaning towards endorsing schemes of this
sort, some of these ideas could be useful food for thought.

                   Draft proposal for a position on
           private copying/alternative compensation schemes

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We support the clear legalisation of peer-to-peer file sharing and similar
forms of copying for personal use, but also believe that society
could benefit from the creation of institutions organised to remunerate
artists, authors and publishers for their contributions to the cultural
information economy.

In this light, we call for the creation of schemes, funded by taxation and/or
by levies on particular products and services, to preserve incentives for
cultural production -- provided that they meet a number of criteria:

* such a scheme is accompanied by a blanket license which allows, at least,
the reproduction of literary and musical copyright works in digital form, for
non-commercial purposes;

* works restricted by DRM or "technical protection measures" are ineligible
for funding from the scheme;

* access to the scheme is non-discriminatory, so that authors publishing on
the web, as well as independent musicians and film makers, have a fair
opportunity to compete for funds against larger commercial entertainment
firms;

* the revenue collected under the scheme is distributed to authors, artists
and copyright owners on the basis of decentralised metrics, such as numbers of
downloads, extent of distribution, usage metering, or consumer votes;

* the mechanisms for measuring these quantities (whether by sampling or
universal measurement) are designed and implemented with thorough and
transparent peer review from the computer security community, to ensure
that they preserve users' privacy and are resistant to disproportionate
manipulation by particular individuals or groups;

* the total amount of revenue available under the system is subject to
regular adjustment based on rigorous economic measures of demand for works
funded by the system.

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Even though I'm strongly in favour of countries experimenting with
alternative compensation systems, I'd be rather worried if they did so
without meeting all of the above conditions.

There are another two points that might not be necessary for the system
to work reliably but I think there are good economic and moral justifications
for both of them:

* the schemes give a fair minimum portion of their royalties to artists,
authors, performers and composers, even if these individuals no longer hold the
relevant rights to the works they have produced;

* the schemes allocate remuneration on a progressive basis, so that artists
with relatively low incomes receive a higher return from increasing popularity
than superstars do.

--
Peter Eckersley
Department of Computer Science   &                  mailto:pde@cs.mu.oz.au
IP Research Institute of Australia             http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~pde
The University of Melbourne