Supporting the Creative Economy
Debate between Paul Farrelly and Nigel Adams(10 years, 7 months ago)
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Nigel Adams
I cannot spot him in the Chamber today, but I understand that he has a meeting with representatives of the music industry, so I am sure that he is doing great work on our behalf.
There is much important work going on to improve awareness of the importance of IP. I welcome the recent launch of a joint IPO and UK Music game, which educates young people about copyright in a fun and interesting way. I understand that the IPO’s karaoke shower is continuing its live tour of the UK and promoting the importance of IP, and that is very welcome. Through the Alliance for Intellectual Property, the industry has developed a content map, which allows users to check which services are licensed. Signposting and nudging consumers in the right direction is sensible, but we need further action to ensure that our creators are properly rewarded.
Those are all positive steps forward, but education will not tackle illegal content if it is not accompanied by mechanisms to ensure that consumers are able to make the right choices about where to get their content. Earlier this week, I and other colleagues here today were presented with a proposal from PRS for Music for an IP traffic light system for online content. That system would provide consumers with clear and visible indicators that would allow them to determine easily whether a website provided illegal or legal content before they entered the site. The merits of such a system are clear, and importantly, it would tackle the root of the problem, which is consumer confusion, while cutting off the traffic to illegal sites, and the revenues collected from advertising on them. In fact, in a survey by Harris, 91% of online downloaders said that they would welcome the introduction of a traffic light system to aid understanding of which sites were legal.
I encourage technology companies to work more closely with the creative industries to find a way of delivering such a system. The company whiteBULLET, which received a grant from the Intellectual Property Office, has being doing good work in that space, but more support should be encouraged. A signal today from our excellent Minister that he backs the principle behind the traffic light system, along with a commitment to support it going forward, would be welcome.