[A2k] Copyright Holders Acknowledge Losing Battle For Public Consciousness At World Copyright Summit

[Robin Gross]

--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Things have definitely changed in the last 10 years in this battle.
The admission from the industry that they cannot block access to
content is a major victory.

Smiles,
Robin

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/06/11/copyright-holders-
acknowledge-losing-battle-for-public-consciousness-at-world-copyright-
summit/

11 June 2009

Copyright Holders Acknowledge Losing Battle For Public Consciousness
At World Copyright Summit
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch @ 2:37 pm

WASHINGTON, DC - Copyright holders on Wednesday acknowledged they
have done a poor job of countering the =93anti-copyright=94 lobby and
demonstrating the creative community=92s value to the world.

During the second day of the 9-10 June International Confederation of
Societies of Authors and Composers=92 (CISAC) World Copyright Summit
here, some content creators also lamented that instead of fighting
for compensation with the advent of new technologies, they fought the
technology - like the VCR - itself.

=94The enemies of copyright have really done a good job at creating the
false premise that the interest of copyright holders and the interest
of society as a whole are antagonistic, and they always talk about
the need for balance,=94 said Fritz Attaway, executive vice president
and senior policy adviser for the Motion Picture Association of
America. =93We have got to do a better job=94 at attempting approaches at
copyright protection =93in a way that we get paid but also that
consumers can access our works,=94 he added.

He cited MPAA=92s work with the technology industry in the introduction
of the DVD. He also noted that via Hulu - a joint venture of NBC
Universal and News Corp. that offers television shows for free, for
now - almost all TV products can be legitimately available to
consumers in the United States.

=94We=92ve got to do more of that. We live in an age where we cannot
block access to our content,=94 he said. =93People are going to get it
one way or the other. We would like them to pay for it and we need to
seek out ways where they can pay for it. But just saying =91no=92 isn=92t
the answer.=94

Eduardo Bautista, president of the management board of Spanish
collective management group, Sociedad General de Autores y Editores,
agreed, saying, =93We=92ve done a lousy job. We should have been fired.=94

That=92s also the message one of those referenced =93enemies=94 tried to
relay. Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics
Association and president of the Home Recording Rights Coalition,
said content creators cannot simply keep saying =93no=94 - particularly
with the next generation=92s seemingly rebellious nature - because it
will create more anti-copyright backlash.

=94Recognise that kids today have been so turned off by the RIAA
approach to litigation that they=92re rejecting everything you say,=94
Shapiro said to National Association of Music Publishers President
David Israelite.

Although Israelite made the comparison that if people were stealing
computers from stores en masse, the technology industry would be up
in arms, Shapiro argued that it is not the same, and that copyright
and intellectual property rights are different than =93real=94 property -
a statement that received groans from the rights holder-friendly
audience. =93That=92s hurting your case because you=92re being rejected by
anyone under 25 who is saying, =91these guys are full of it,=92=94 Shapiro
continued.

One way to strengthen the creators=92 case, particularly given the
current state of the global economy, is to stress the economic value
of their industry, particularly in developing countries, experts
said. The World Intellectual Property Organization, for example,
pointed out that the copyright industry is responsible for roughly 6
percent of a developing economy.

=94When you bring those figures to the attention of the government of
developing countries, they begin to see it differently,=94 said WIPO
Deputy Director General Michael Keplinger. =93There=92s something in it
for them =85 it=92s not just something for America and the Europeans and
the Japanese.=94

Copyright Harmonisation; Performance Rights Introduced; Orphan Works
Coming

One thing that could provide beneficial to the copyright industry is
copyright harmonisation throughout the world, many panellists agreed.
Harmonised laws could help all cultures - including those in
developing countries - survive in the global marketplace, and that
that system would encourage diversity of creative works. George
Washington University intellectual property professor Ralph Oman
cited Canada and India for not signing on to various internet
treaties that could help on this front, and Brazil for criticising
WIPO as too oriented toward developed country interests, but not
constructively engaging in the debate.

There were also more calls to pass performance-rights legislation for
sound recordings in the United States. Perry Apelbaum, staff director
for Representative John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, said that issue
is a priority for Conyers=92 House Judiciary Committee. The House on
Tuesday passed the Webcasters Settlement Act of 2009, which gives Web
radio stations and artists more time to agree on a royalty payment
system. The Senate is expected to take up the bill within the next
month or so.

=94At the end of the day, we want a bill that does not hurt any
songwriters,=94 Apelbaum said.

US Copyright Register Marybeth Peters told Intellectual Property
Watch that orphan works legislation is expected to be introduced
within the next 10 days. It is her understanding there may still be
some issues in the House version to be resolved, and there are some
stakeholders - such as illustrators and other artists - =93who are
probably going to lobby pretty hard against it.=94

Peters said this issue is important to her, and the fact it came so
close to passing last year is almost bittersweet.

=94What I hope it isn=92t =85 is it=92s one magic moment you get=94 to fina=
lly
get it passed, then it doesn=92t happen, she said.

French Three-Strikes Strikeout

Rights holders were dealt a blow Wednesday when a French court struck
down the country=92s =93three strikes=94 law, saying that =93free access=94=
 to
the internet is a human right and cannot be withheld without a
judge=92s order, and that the new system presumes guilt, instead of
innocence. It is anticipated that the government will introduce a new
version of the bill with the same =93graduated response=94 approach, but
it may transfer some of the administrative powers to a court.

=94This isn=92t over yet in France by a long shot,=94 said Shira
Perlmutter, executive vice president of global legal policy for IFPI
- as well as a name said to be under possible consideration for
President Obama=92s IP =93tsar.=94 =93In general, the French approach was a
very important step in just recognising we need cooperation by ISPs.=94

YouTube - to which users upload 20 hours of video each minute - took
a bit of a pounding the day before by rights holders, and has been
sued by some artist groups and others. YouTube representatives noted
that the service is losing money, and parent-company Google has
invested a lot of cash and resources to try to make it a viable
business.

YouTube currently has 4,000 licensing partners, and wants to acquire
more, but one obstacle contributing to what YouTube chief counsel
Zahavah Levin called =93copyright gridlock=94 is that there are too many
disparate licensing schemes to deal with. The company touted its
=93historic, first-of-its kind-deals=94 with rightsholders to obtain the
licensing tools it has after Israelite blasted YouTube for practising
the =93Corleone business model=94 [referring to an American mafia figure]
in which they launch first, then ask for permission from content
holders later.

=94We ploughed through, spent an inordinate amount of energy =85 we=92re
very proud of what we accomplished and if you=92re serious about
working with new media companies instead of killing new technologies,
that=92s what you guys should have done in the beginning and that=92s
what you should be doing now,=94 Levine told Israelite.

Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond defended his company=92s
business practises, noting that while there=92s still a long way to go
in perfecting its licensing regime, the company has benefited rights
holders. He noted that in 2008, Google generated $6 billion for
publishers via its Google Ad Sense program; the company=92s net income
was $4.3 billion. As for YouTube, the movie =93Monty Python=94 saw a
23,000 percent increase in DVD sales in three days immediately after
the launch of the Monty Python YouTube channel.

=94We don=92t want to shy away from the fact that Google=92s been a
disruptor, along with other internet companies=94 for artists, Drummond
said. =93But at the end of the day, I believe we=92re all motivated by a
common mission. =85We can be partners, not enemies.=94




IP JUSTICE
Robin Gross, Executive Director
1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA  94117  USA
p: +1-415-553-6261    f: +1-415-462-6451
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