A report commissioned by the business secretary Vince Cable called for an online “Copyright Hub” to act as a one-stop shop to allow digital download and rental services, to ensure they are not infringing copright. Rights holders will also benefit from greater sales of their work, it is claimed.
Web firms who want to license content have often complained that navigating the existing arrangements set up by royalty collection societies is too complicated and expensive, restricting innovation and consumer choice.
“Setting up an industry led and industry-funded Copyright Hub will help maximise the potential for creators and rights owners on the supply side and the wide range of licensees and users on the demand side,” said Richard Hooper, a former deputy chairman of Ofcom and author of the report.
He was asked to investigate the feasibility of a Copyright Hub after it was one of the main recommendations of last year’s Hargreaves Review, a broad look at intellectual property in Britain.
The Hargreaves Review was viewed with suspicion by many in the music, film and publishing industries, who believed it had been instigated at the behest of Google in an attempt to water down copyright law.
Today, however, they welcomed Mr Hooper’s recommendations, which would allow them to offer licenses via the Copyright Hub on a voluntary basis.
“We both welcome and support Richard Hooper's findings and will work with our partners in the industry to meet the challenges he identifies, providing a better licensing environment for all,” said Robert Ashcroft, chief executive of PRS, which collects royalties for record companies and artists.
The Publisher’s Association, whose members are increasingly concerned by the rise of e-book piracy, also gave the plan a qualified welcome.
Source: The Telegraph
