contentsecurity2209v2_cs 25/09/2015 17:31 Page 3
UK Culture Secretary: 'Strong copyright
enforcement regime needed'
K Culture Secretary
John Whittingdale
has suggested that
European Commission
proposals for copyright
reform must be supported by
a strong enforcement regime
to combat piracy.
Whittingdale told the Royal
Television Society Cambridge
Convention 2015, that content
portability was a key part of the
European Commission’s
proposals for Copyright reform
and confirmed that the
Government strongly supported
the calls for much greater
progress.
“Consumers understandably
want to enjoy continued access to
their favourite programmes when
they travel abroad. And it is only
right for someone who has paid
for access to a subscription service
- or even just the licence fee - to
be able to access that content
when on holiday overseas.
However, we also need to ensure
that we do not harm investment
in UK content production and
export growth – at which the UK
excels,” he warned.
“We must be careful not to
create loopholes that could be
exploited. My colleagues in the
Business department and I are
therefore looking to the industry
U
Survey: Availability,
lower prices reduce
piracy
A survey conducted by
Australian consumer
advocacy group CHOICE has
found that one third of
Australians download,
stream or watch pirated TV
shows or movies online. In a
follow-up to its 2014 Piracy
Survey, CHOICE found the
same answer again to the
why: price and availability.
The most frequent pirates
are also the biggest
consumers of paid and
unpaid legal content and
many exhaust the legal
6 ContentSecurity
to deliver portability, so that we
can avoid the threat of overly
zealous regulation in Brussels. So
I urge broadcasters to make their
content more
widely
available
and to
come
forward
with
their own proposals for portability
and how this can be made to work
for your industry.”
He admitted that the issue of
cross-border access for those
based abroad was trickier, and
was very conscious that this is a
particular concern for the audiovisual sector. “We are pressing for
more detail about the
Commission’s proposals, which
will need to be evidence-based
and respect the rights of
businesses to tailor products to
their markets. I am also
determined that we do everything
we can to make sure that strong
incentives for investment are not
undermined. Striking the right
balance is key - we need to make
sure ѡ