COMMUNIA member and La Quadrature du Net co-founder Phillippe Aigrain has published 14 proposals for the reform of copyright policy and related cultural policies. The proposal, titled ‘Elements for the reform of copyright and related cultural policies‘ contains 14 interlined reform proposals that attempt to bring cultural policies and copyright in line with the realities of the digital environment.
According to Phillipe Aigrain the time for a constructive discussion on copyright reform on the European level is now:
Now that the ACTA treaty has been rejected by the European Parliament, a period opens during which it will be possible to push for a new regulatory and policy framework adapted to the digital era. Many citizens and MEPs support the idea of reforming copyright in order to make possible for all to draw the benefits of the digital environment, engage into creative and expressive activities and share in their results. In the coming months and years, the key questions will be: What are the real challenges that this reform should address? How can we address them?
Not unsurprisingly for a COMMUNIA member the 14 proposals have a substantial overlap with positions previously voiced by COMMUNIA (see our 14[sic!] policy recommendations): Aigrain addresses issues of alternative compensation for creators, hostage/orphan works, exceptions for educational use and memory institutions, the reform of collective management and the introduction of formalities.
In addition to these issues Aigrain tries to broaden the discussion to also address on questions related to funding for cultural production and the position of creators vis a vis intermediaries. He makes the argument that copyright reform alone is only one side of the coin and that we need to critically review policies related to culture funding as well. This expansion of the discussion makes his proposals especially interesting although it is not hard to imagine that it will be quite a challenge to form a coalition that embraces his entire list of proposals. That, however, does not diminish the value of Aigrain’s contribution and it is up to work towards getting this discussion underway.
As Aigrain and others have argued the moment to start a discussion about copyright reform that is not driven by fear and the interest’s of incumbent industries and intermediaries is now and we need to embrace this opportunity.
