Saturday 20 March 2010

Please read the link

Please read this: http://blog.authorsrights.org.uk/2010/03/19/the-digital-economy-bill-demands-full-democratic-scrutiny/ and look at the rest of the site.

It may same complicated and, certainly, law making seems designed to put people off (which is why such poorly drafted legislation gets through), but it is important.

In a kind of panic, probably prompted by big industry putting the squeeze on Lord Mandelson of Mordor, the government's response to piracy seems to be to dismantle the laws that protect us from pirates. Big business may survive this, but individual creators will not. This Bill will open the flood gates for people to rip off other people's work and the law (already adequate but poorly policed and implemented) will tie everyone up in knots for decades.

If an artist, writer, or musician feels they are unable to control who makes money from their creation, they aren't going to bother. You won't have original works to read, original works to watch on TV or in the cinema, original music to listen to.

Pirates steal because they cannot create. Once they have pushed creative workers out of business, that's it. And the biggest pirate? A company that goes to law to protect its own copyright whilst also going to law to grab everyone else's. Their name begins with a G.

1 comment:

Rachel Green said...

Good link. Thanks Graeme