PRCA makes submission to UK Intellectual Property Review

London, 15 March 2011- The PRCA has made a submission to the UK Intellectual Property Review proposing that:

  • the process for ensuring licensing schemes are fair and reasonable is made cheaper and easier for all parties.
  • the rights of Internet browsers are not compromised as content owners look to maximise profit from that content.

The submission followed the PRCA's recent experience challenging a scheme proposed by the Newspaper Licensing Agency Ltd that would require end users to purchase a licence to browse content on newspaper websites.

The PRCA supports licensing schemes so long as they are fair. The reason for our challenge to the NLA scheme was that we believe it to be unfair and to have far wider consequences than were intended.

The High Court ruling means that when a user displays a web page on screen, English law considers this to be the same as making a copy. We do not believe that this can be right as it changes the fundamental principles of the Internet which have seen it be a source of economic growth, scientific advancement and social development.

We believe that content owners have the right to protect their content, but are under a responsibility to find ways to monetise it that do not compromise the wider benefits of the Internet. We hope that the Intellectual Property review will support our view.

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