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Digital Economy and Killing off the Pirates

04 Nov 2009 | Danuta Kean

The UK is a world leader in the creative industries, but digitisation has undermined its competitiveness. The government has responded with the Digital Economy Bill, but, as Danuta Kean found out, this landmark legislation is under threat

At the end of October British Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson surprised everybody when he announced in the middle of a consultation period proposals to deal with digital piracy to be contained in the forthcoming Digital Economy Bill.

Among measures to stop online piracy will be caps on downloading and bandwith restrictions for serial abusers. If the abuse continues pirates will be disconnected from the network. It is a measure already introduced in France.

Quoting the figure that only one in 20 music downloads is paid for, Lord Mandelson said:  "I want to be absolutely clear. The British Government’s view is that taking people’s work without due payment is wrong and that, as an economy based on creativity, we cannot sit back and do nothing as this happens."

A key element of the bill will deal with collective licensing and orphan works in bid to "make the process of clearing rights less painful without eroding the position of rights holders". Another is an undertaking to educate the public about copyright. Both provisions are expected to get cross party support.

Less likely to be voted through without opposition are the most severe sanctions against pirates.  "The protection of IP industries is absolutely critical," says Don Foster, Liberal Democrat shadow secretary for culture. He rejects the idea of account suspension. "We are firmly of the view that account suspension not only should be a very last resort, but should only be contemplated if there is a judicial process," he says.

"I would be unhappy with the idea of cutting people off entirely," says John Whittingdale, Conservative MP and chair of the culture, media and sports committee. Emphasising that he does not speak on behalf of his party, he added: "Broadband access now is becoming so much of a necessity of life that I don't think Parliament would agree to a full suspension. That will deal with a large proportion of offenders."

However, though the Digital Economy Bill appears to be good news for the book industry, there is a strong chance it will fall victim to the forthcoming General Election. "That is the big debate," Whittingdale adds. "The government at the moment is still saying it's still aiming to get it on the statute book before a General Election, but in my view the timetable for achieving that is extraordinarily tight."

He adds: "It is terribly important that we try and get this legislation passed, but one cannot be entirely confident that they are going to manage it."

If the legislation fails and Labour loses the election, any new government is unlikely to have time to resurrect the bill. If that happens, an important chance for the government to defend its creative industries, a sector worth £16bn, responsible for 4 percent of exports, will be lost.

Questiontime: digital policy:
General elections are to be held everywhere from Britain to Brazil in 2010, so what three questions should the book industry ask politicians?

1. How will you tackle online piracy?
This isn't just a question of cutting off pirates' internet services, it is about enforcement, policing and education.

2. How will you support the traditional creative industries?
This is a question of support, financial and otherwise, for the creative industries' to develop digital platforms that both protect IP rights and enable greater public access.

3. With which copyright regime do you identify? The US or European Union?
Because US copyright law is weaker and has fundamental differences to European copyright law, their answer will demonstrate their understanding of the problems faced by the trade.