Konferencje...

19.04.2010 - Poseł Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg uczestniczyła w konferencji zatytułowanej "Prawa autorskie w cyfrowym świecie", w panelu "Dostęp do >osieroconych< książek: Wyzwania i szanse dla autorów". Konferencję zorganizowała Posłanka Helga Trupel. Zapraszamy do lektury wystąpienia Lidii Geringer de Oedenberg (w języku angielskim).

Conference "Authors' rights in the Digital Worlds"

Panel: access to the virtual book: challenges and opportunities for authors (digital libraries, new business models, enhanced role for collecting societies)

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to congratulate the European Writers Council for their initiative to organise this interesting conference just a few days before 23 April, which is World book and copyright day. I am very pleased to have been included among the guests. I am speaking here as a member of the European Parliament, working in the Legal Affairs Committee, who is faced with the challenges of the new digital era, but also as a former artist, who used to present works to the public and a director of a philharmonic orchestra, who used to negotiate contracts with authors' representatives.

The book industry like many other industries in the XXI century is about to "turn the page": from a paper to digital one. I find this phenomenon of comparable importance to the invention of printing by Gutenberg. The phenomenon of digitalisation came out all of a sudden, and Europe was a little bit taken aback by the massive scale of digitalisation undertaken first by a private American company. Now, the shock is slowly passing and we are thinking about what actions should be taken at EU level. It is therefore a good moment to reflect on how we perceive this new "digital" reality which is being born. Is this an opportunity or a threat for authors? Will authors lose control over their works in the digital world - or will this world open new possibilities for them?

It needs to be underlined that the problem is very complex. On one hand we talk about digitalising European cultural heritage, through Europeana, national cultural institutions or private companies. On the other hand, we face the challenge of a new "virtual" market for books which is developing on the Internet, facilitated by new devices like IPad, Sony Reader etc... This market is already developed in the US and Japan. We can expect the same trends in terms of consumer interest in the EU. This is also where we need to have legal certainty and effective measures in order to avoid problems like those faced by the music industry. The main problem today is that this on-line market is still fragmented by national borders, in contradiction to the idea of the free flow of goods and services, which is at the heart of European integration.
So, is this "digital reality" an opportunity or a threat for authors? I truly believe that it's an opportunity not only for them, but for the whole society.
Let's look at the statistics concerning literacy rates in Europe. According to OECD, which is running a Program for international assessment of reading literacy among people under 15, the results are quite depressing. The number of pupils under 15, who don't have even basic reading skills is growing (it's defined as understanding, using and reflecting written texts in order to achieve one's goals). For the EU the share of pupils having such problems has grown from 19.8% in 2000 to 22.6% in 2006. The figures are even more alarming for specific countries.1 On the other hand Eurobarometer survey on cultural values within Europe reveals that 42% of those, who use the Internet for leisure, do it with the aim of obtaining information on cultural events and products.2 It means, that the Internet is an important facilitator of cultural life. The more - it has to offer to its users, the better.
Therefore, ensuring a wide accessibility to books in a digital format can, in my opinion, give a new dimension to reading. This is especially attractive for young people: for them Internet is "trendy", reading ebooks using pretty gadgets can be perceived as more interesting than reading "material books". Digital books can be interactive; they may have functions which facilitate understanding the text.
New possibilities for authors, especially those, whose books are no longer available in print, could arise. The problem of limited capacity of bookshops, which can only store books for an average period of 3 months currently, will also be overcome. This should result in greater customer, which will translate into higher revenues for authors.
Of course, the ideal picture which I have just drawn, will not come true by itself. We have to make sure, that a proper "level-playing field" for both consumer and authors is created.
So, what could be done, in order to facilitate the transition from "paper" to "digital" world.
Firstly, since we are talking about "creative" industries, our solutions also have to be creative. Experience of the music industry shows - how the absence of an appropriate response - in good time, negatively influenced the market. I don't have a precise proposal to propose it now, but I believe that while envisaging possible solutions we should be as open-minded and forward thinking as possible. Secondly, our policies have to be coherent. Let me give you one example: The European Recovery Plan envisages 1billion euro for the development of broadband infrastructures in Europe, with a special focus on rural areas. The philosophy behind this, is that investment in broadband has a positive impact on economic development, innovation and territorial cohesion. The Commission expects 1million jobs - to be created only thanks to this investment. Of course, this increased access to internet will have a consequence in a greater demand for online "cultural" services: music, literature, newspapers, etc.... Therefore, we have to consider, what to do - in order to allow this future demand to be satisfied by a high quality legal offer.
Now, lets look at some concrete steps which should be taken in order to meet the challenges of digitalisation of copyright-protected goods.
Let's start with the pan European digital library Europeana. The main difficulties this project is facing are: making sure that all categories of books from all Member States will be available on-line. In practical terms this means, that we have to find ways to digitalise not only public domain books (the only category available now), but also orphan works and out-of print books. If this is to happen, two aspects are to be addressed: overcoming legal obstacles to digitalisation and ensuring proper financing.
As far as legal obstacles are concerned, today libraries need to secure licences from a great number of rights holders, when they want to scan books. This complicates and extends the process of digitalisation in time. As we know, the Commission is currently examining possible solutions, like amending the current directives by introducing a legally binding exception to copyright for digitalisation by libraries and facilitating multi-territorial licensing.
The second challenge is to ensure proper financing of the project. Since Europeana is a pan-European library, I strongly support the idea of providing funds especially at the European level. Let me also point out that such proposal corresponds very well to the wish expressed by many of us, that the EU should give privilege to funding innovation and knowledge related activities. I think we will have to address this issue while negotiating the next Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2014-2020. Providing EU funds for Europeana should be coupled with stronger pressure on Member States to digitalise their heritage. The strategy of "sticks and carrots" should help to reduce the great disparities in digitalisation between various Member States.
What should be done for facilitating the transition from paper to the online world.
For several years scholars, assembled in the so-called "Wittem Group" have been arguing in favour of the creation of a single European copyright law. Today, thanks to the new legal basis for intellectual property in art. 118 of the Lisbon Treaty, this option is becoming a reality. The single European copyright law is in my opinion necessary to creating an "internal" market for online goods & services. I don't see any reason why the principle of the free flow of goods & services should not be extended to the online environment. Why are we able to buy and sell "material" books in the whole EU, but we cannot do the same thing with e-books?
While well adapted to the XIX-century reality, the principle of territoriality, does not reflect the reality of the XXI century. The great tool of communication, which is the Internet, doesn't recognise national borders. And we should not create them artificially.
In my opinion, a single copyright framework will be beneficial for all the "creative" sectors concerned. For books specifically: on the one hand it will solve many obstacles to digitalisation, on the other hand, it will facilitate the commercial exploitation of goods all over the EU. All those, who want to offer copyright protected goods, will be able to do so without the need to clear the rights in 27 Member States. This will enable the EU economy to make up "the gap" in online services compared with the United States.
In conclusion, let me draw a picture of an ideal situation for copyright protected work in the digital era. In such an ideal situation we could have a single source, like a very extended Europeana, from which it would be possible to download public domain works for free and in-copyright works in exchange for a fixed periodical payment. Authors could be remunerated on this basis, according to popularity of their works, measured by the number of downloads. I think that the amount of payment could be comparable to what we currently pay for TV, which is around 10-15 euros a month. In such an ideal situation we wouldn't have to worry about IPR infringements, because copyright-protected works would be simply more affordable.
Having this ideal picture in mind, let's now creatively think how we could make it happen.
Thank you for your attention,