We all know that online copyright
theft is getting out of hand, but what’s the Government doing to change this?
Rosie Burbidge gives us the low-down on the ‘Hub’, a new, proposed copyright
marketplace that might make it easier to stop copyright theft
The internet has transformed the
availability and shareability of images, making it easy to copy illegally but
hard for copyright owners to sue. The current copyright system is struggling to
cope with the digital age but what is the alternative?
After a number of reviews, the Government
is currently actively discussing a proposal in the Hooper Report which may
finally provide a solution: a digital copyright exchange also known as the
copyright ‘hub’.
We
all know that online copyright theft is getting out of hand, but what’s the
Government doing to change this?
The hub aims to be a one-stop shop for all
digital copyright works by streamlining the licensing process for low to medium
value licences. It’s a marketplace for rights, basically, focusing on a high
volume of automatable, low monetary value transactions coming from a large
number of smaller users.
Photographers have been particularly
affected by the digital world and the hub could be a force for improving their position.
This article considers the impact of the hub on photographers and examines the
benefits and pitfalls for both the photographer (as the licensor) and the user
(as the licensee).
The hub intends to offer clarity to users
in terms of what both the photographer is offering under the licence, and what
the licence does (and does not) permit.
The hub will be not for profit and
industry-led. It will build on and connect the existing industry exchanges and
collecting societies and, most likely, offer a portal into each of these
systems. It will also provide free copyright education and enable the easy
search of copyright works. The hub may also provide a form of dispute
resolution and, while references to this in the Hooper Report are minimal, it
is seen by many as essential to the hub’s success,
The
hub will be not for profit and industry-led. It will build on and connect the
existing industry exchanges and collecting societies and, most likely, offer a
portal into each of these systems.
What about orphan works?
Orphan works is a general term for works
which do not have an identifiable copyright owner. This is a particular problem
for photographs where, despite the best efforts of photographers, metadata and
even watermarks can be relatively easily removed (sometimes automatically),
making unauthorised use only too easy.
Somewhat controversially, it is intended
that parties who wish to use an orphan work will be able to do so if they:
·
Can show that they have been unable to find the
copyright owner after a diligent search as verified by an independent
authorising body; and
·
Pay a ‘reasonable’ licence fee which will be
passed on to the copyright owner in the event of a claim.
How this will actually work is still being
considered. If the hub gets the go-ahead, recording your work on it is likely
to be a good means of avoiding orphan work issues.
This provision could effectively remove the
opt in nature of the hub as, if your work isn’t recorded, it may still be
licensed as an orphan work but you will lose the benefit of the licence fee
(unless you claim). However, it is likely that there will be a compromise
reached (such as a list of works which are not orphans but do not want to be
part of the licensing scheme). In any event, it is surely better than the current
system where photographs are infringed online on a regular basis with little
acknowledgement or recompense to the photographers themselves,
Metadata stripping
Sadly, the hub does not solve the problem
of metadata stripping. However, the government report suggests the following
solutions:
·
A unique identifier for images which is accepted
as the industry norm. This identifier would, ideally, link to an online
database of current rights data. The BBC has been ‘urged’ to lead this
solution,
·
A voluntary code of practice amongst media
organisations which regularly use and resize images for online publication to
a) not strip metadata and b) not use images
without any metadata.
The hub is hugely ambitious. It requires
significant input from a wide range of industries. Although there are still
problems, particularly in relation to orphan works, there is immense potential
for revenue. The music industry has learned how much money there is in legal
digital downloads provided that they are made easy and readily accessible. The
same benefits will hopefully reach the photography world thanks to the hub.
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Photographers
get
·
Easy record of photographs
·
Less paperwork
·
Dispute resolution (poss.)
Users get
·
Easy clearance of rights
·
Transparent and affordable copyright licensing
Both get
·
Clarity as to permitted uses and licence fees
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