by Amrit Nijjer

Leading UK think tank report states that Government broadband policy should focus on “empowering” consumers and business not speed.

Policy Exchange today released a report regarding the future of broadband policy in which it argues for an end to current broadband policy once existing plans to roll out superfast broadband to 90% of the country and a universal minimum of 2Mbps are completed in 2015.

The case for broadband subsidies past this date according to the report are “weak” and it suggests refocusing policy and tax-payer money to fund the empowerment of consumers and businesses to drive demand for private sector investment in any further broadband expansion.

The report makes the case that continued Government investment in a broadband speed is unhealthy when 10.8 million people are still not online and only a minority of businesses use the internet to take bookings (34%) and accept payments (36%).

The report is right in stating that speed is not the be all and end all of broadband policy – adoption, coverage and the social/economic outcomes of broadband are also highly important. A business based in rural Devon should have the same awareness and access to the same online resources and tools as a business in London. Furthermore consumers must be provided with the skills necessary to make proper use of the internet. Access, awareness and digital skills are instrumental in creating a national environment conducive to producing new digital businesses across the country.

However it must be noted that this must not be used as an argument against the continued support for hubs and clusters. It is evident that superfast broadband in the East London hub has assisted it in attracting top class entrepreneurs and gaining its position amongst the world’s leading startup hubs. Hubs and clusters, like East London, rely on broadband investment to put them in a leading position to create world beating digital products and services.

The report also makes recommendations for cutting red tape and regulation around the deployment of broadband infrastructure such as street cabinets. This is key, not only to future broadband strategy, but to current broadband policy.

If broadband expansion is to be successful, be it government or market driven, BT must be relinquished of its hold on the installation of broadband infrastructure. It must be easier and more desirable for smaller businesses to bid for broadband contracts. Government has announced measures to support this through allowing the installation of street cabinets without council approval and making it less costly and bureaucratic for businesses to lay cable in the streets. More action in this area will ensure that broadband is rolled both faster and more widespread.

We welcome the attempts of the report to highlight the huge importance of broadband to the future of both society and the economy. Coverage and empowerment are important issues and should be regarded highly in any future broadband policy, however it must not come at the expense of the support for hubs and clusters who are reliant on broadband investment for continued growth.

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by Sara Kelly

This morning Vince Cable announced the publication of the Government’s response to the many copyright consultations that have been taking place since August 2011 when the Government declared their support for the recommendations proposed by Professor Hargreaves in his Independent Review of IP and Growth.

The report entitled “Modernising Copyright: A modern, robust and flexible framework” is an extremely strong one addressing many of the concerns put by rights holders during the extensive consultation period, while proposing a number of measures that seek to adapt the UK’s strong but rigid framework for copyright into one that is modern, robust and flexible – suitable for a digital age.

Measures proposed aim to make sure that copyright makes the greatest possible contribution to UK economic growth and to our society, and also meet consumers reasonable expectations. These measures compliment the elements of the Enterprise and Regulatory Bill currently in Parliament that deal with other proposals from Hargreaves including orphan works and the regulation of copyright collecting societies.

Coadec’s response;

We are delighted that the Government has now announced their plans for modernising copyright. These measures will help to provide certainty for digital entrepreneurs working with copyright and rights holders alike. The report comes after an exhaustive 16 month period of consultation and the strength of the argument for reform shines through.

Sara Kelly, Executive Director of Coadec

Todays report will amend and increase the number and scope of permitted acts in a number of ways including the following.

• Private copying to be permitted onto any medium or device people own for personal use, including private online cloud storage.
• Minor acts of copying for educational purposes permitted if considered “fair”. No general exception for education and licenses still required for reprographic copying.
• General permission for quotation and news reporting if source is acknowledged and considered “fair dealing”. Photos will continue to be excluded.
• Government to legislate to allow “limited” copying for parody, caricature and pastiche.
• Research and private study exception will allow educational institutions to offer works electronically at “dedicated terminals” and on “their premises”.
• Researchers with lawful access to works will be allowed to make copies for the purpose of analytics (ie Data and Text Mining)
• Government to allow people with disabilities the right to obtain works in accessible form if not already on the market
• Archiving and preservation to be permitted if the work is in a permanent collection and cannot be readily replaced.
• Public bodies are to be allowed to share unpublished and publicly available works.
• A non-statutory system for clarifying copyright law will be introduced, known as copyright notices. The Intellectual Property Office will deliver this system.

The Government wil publish draft legislation for technical review in 2013 and the intention is for the measures to come into force in October 2013.

Below are some additional key points drawn from the report.

• The Impact assessments (which were reviewed and validated by Government’s independent Regulatory Policy Committee) suggest measures could contribute over £500m to UK economy over 10 years.
• The report highlights a study that showed while the UK’s strong framework for exploiting copyright works is ranked only second to the UK, the UK’s system is much less well regarded for being fit for digital technologies than many major competitors (ranked 13th out of 18)
• It was highlighted how “because of the potential for large damages, even small risks and uncertainties around copyright law may become impossible for investors to bear when added to those associated with new technologies and markets”.
• It’s stated that ‘the alternative – to neglect the possibility of future benefits – is worse: ignoring known benefits of innovation in aggregate would privilege the status quo against the future best economic outcomes”

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by Sara Kelly

Yesterday a cross-party committee of both houses appointed to scrutinise the draft Communications Data Bill released in June, published its report which concluded that significant changes need to be made to the Bill.

The draft Bill aims to “to maintain the ability of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies to access vital communications data under strict safeguards to protect the public, subject to scrutiny of draft clauses” but has been met with significant criticism over the scope and technical viability of the proposals.

We submitted evidence to the Committees inquiry highlighting the potential damage the Bill in its current format could do to small business, innovation and the UK’s reputation as a good place to start a digital business. You can read our submission on the committee’s page on the Parliament website (PDF, Page 120).

Coadec were quoted in an article in the Financial Times this morning welcoming the Committee’s conclusion on the impact the draft Bill could potentially have on business. Below are links to some responses and articles on the committee’s report available online.

If you would like to contact Coadec about our response to the committee’s report see our Contact page for ways to get in touch.

• Draft Communications Data Bill to be redrafted – No 10 - BBC
• Think again on ‘snooper’s charter’, says Clegg – Times (£)
• This damning verdict on the snooper’s charter is the start of a longer battle – Guardian
• U.K. Web, email snooping draft law dead, at least for now – ZDNet
• Communications Data Bill: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales (debate with Michael Ellis MP) – BBC
• ‘Snooper’s charter’: leading Tories back Nick Clegg’s call for complete rewrite – Guardian
• UK’s Web monitoring draft bill revealed: What you need to know – ZDNet
• Nick Clegg: draft data bill tramples on privacy, cannot proceed – Wired
• MPs slam draft Communications Data Bill - Computer Weekly
• Data bill: what’s the right balance between security and liberty online? – Guardian
• Theresa May hits back in coalition clash over ‘snooper’s charter’ – Guardian
• ‘Snooper’s charter’ faces rough ride through parliament – Guardian
• Snooper’s charter is unworkable, Clegg tells May – Guardian
• Snoopers’ Charter: Nick Clegg Urges Re-Think – Sky
• Clegg orders Home Office ‘back to the drawing board’ over snoopers’ charter plan to track phone and internet use – Mail Online
• Nick Clegg’s veto threat puts Theresa May’s plan for a ‘snooper’s charter’ in crisis – Independent
• Clegg declares that coalition “cannot proceed” with snoopers’ charter – New Statesman
• Snoopers Charter Report Summary – Computer World
• Nick Clegg distances Lib Dems from ‘snoopers charter’ – Guardian
• MPs turn on Home Office over snoopers’ charter – Telegraph
• £500 per household for police to monitor internet – Telegraph
• Business backs Clegg on data bill – FT
• Clegg orders internet monitoring rethink – FT
• Security minister (James Brokenshire): Communications Bill needs public support – Telegraph
• Home Office minister (James Brokenshire): We can change snooping bill quickly – Spectator
• The Government’s snooping plans will turn us into a nation of suspects – Telegraph
• Clegg Says U.K. Coalition Must Rethink Data Bill – Business Week
• UK Government’s snooping bill to be rewritten after mass criticism – Tech Radar
• Nick Clegg Demands Snooper’s Charter Rethink – Tech Week
• Theresa May and Nick Clegg at war over ‘snooper’s charter’ – The Week
• Briefing on the Joint Committee’s final report into the draft Communications Data Bill – ORG
• Joint Committee slams Home Office’s Snoopers’ Charter – ORG
• Committee says no to draft Communications Data Bill – Big Brother Watch
• UK “snooper’s charter” to be redrafted – Index on Censorship

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by Amrit Nijjer

Yesterday, Ofcom, in collaboration with the Intellectual Property Office, released a report that provides an insight into the online behaviours and attitudes across the UK.

The report takes a look at the UK’s attitudes toward the ISP warning letters that would be sent out in line with the ’3 strikes’ scheme, brought in through the Digital Economy Act (DEA) and set to be in force by 2014. The numbers show that household internet users are not deterred by potential letters highlighting copyright infringement. The survey states that only 16% of participants would be put off piracy if they received a letter stating that their internet connection had been cut off, rising to just 22% for a letter stating their internet connection would be suspended.

The numbers support what has occurred in France where the HADOPI law, similar to the DEA, has been branded a failure. HADOPI which has sent 99,000 letters and brought 134 cases forward for prosecution has not yet resulted in a single user being disconnected and sales of content have not increased. It is now costing the French €12 million annually and earlier this year prompted Aurélie Filippetti, the French culture minister, to brand the system as “unwieldy, uneconomic and ultimately ineffective”. Pressing ahead with implementing the Digital Economy Act would be an expensive way to spend £6 million on a scheme that doesn’t even notionally deter the majority of people.

Not only does a 3 strike scheme appear to offer little deterrent, the report displays what we’ve seen in studies that have taken place across the globe, that infringers spend more on purchasing digital content than those who access 100% legal content. Music infringers who accessed both legal and illegal content online spent on average £77.24 over the 3-month period of the survey compared to £43.31 by those who only accessed legal content. A similar report in the US last month showed these patterns in consumers across the pond that P2P users spend more on digital music, subscription fees, merchandise and concert tickets than non-P2P users. This is also a continuing trend as shown by reports in the UK by The Leading Question in 2005 and Demos in 2009. The trend doesn’t stop with music. Those that access films legally and illegally are willing to spend more on digital film downloads (£4.92 vs £3.74) and film subscriptions (£6.67 vs £5.05) than those who just access films legally.

Ofcom’s report states that only 5% of those asked accessed music completely through infringing sources – this means a huge proportion of people are willing to pay for content if it is priced correctly and easy to access. There is huge opportunity for content creators to work with digital startups creating new platforms that distribute content in the way that consumers want for a fair price.

The Ofcom press release for the report led with “half of internet users unsure if content is legal”. What needs to be noted on this is that awareness and confusion over copyright and what is infringing or not must not be used as an argument for a ‘white list’ of legal services. This would not only be a threat to competition and startups, but also terrible for consumers.

BPI already has a list of legal music services on their website, though large and inclusive, it is not comprehensive and is not an industry or consumer solution. BPI is also supporting