Global copyright watch list reveals US hypocrisy and how out-of-date legislation is damaging consumer interests

Publication date: 30 Apr 2009

Global copyright watch list reveals US hypocrisy and how out-of-date legislation is damaging consumer interests

• Global consumer body names best and worst national IP regimes for consumers
• US corporate lobby intent on restricting consumer-friendly IP laws around the world, despite ‘fair use’ laws at home
• Consumer groups call for Obama administration to switch US position on restrictive copyright laws.

Consumers International (CI)i today released the results of its inaugural Intellectual Property (IP) Watch List ii: a global snapshot of how national IP and copyright laws serve or subvert consumer interests.

The Watch List of IP laws in 16 countries demonstrates that copyright legislation in transitional economies such as India, South Korea and Indonesia were amongst the most favourable to consumers. The United Kingdom came bottom of the Watch List because of an almost total lack of consumer flexibility, despite a 500 year history of copyright legislation.

The Watch List shows that consumers in the US enjoy a relatively liberal copyright regime that allows for ‘fair use’ iii of copyrighted material. But special interests in the US are pushing to eliminate that same openness and flexibility for consumers around the world.

By highlighting this hypocrisy through the release of the IP Watch List, CI hopes the Obama administration will take this chance to distinguish itself from policies of the past.

In May, the US government will publish its own review of international copyright legislation, the ‘301 Report’ iv. To date, this has been heavily influenced by corporate lobbyists pushing for stricter copyright laws around the world. CI’s IP Watch List is an effort to demonstrate where and how copyright law can work better for consumers.

Jeremy Malcolm, CI IP Programme Coordinator says:

“Fair use in US copyright law has contributed an estimated $4.5 trillion to the US economy, by allowing the use of copyrighted material by educational institutions, Internet innovators, and sellers of devices like the iPod and TiVo. Yet the US government is actively stopping other countries from having the same opportunities. CI wants to see an end to this hypocrisy.”

The Watch List also reveals that, in addition to US pressure for stricter laws, the IP legislation in the majority of the countries surveyed is still designed for 20^th Century copyright issues. It does not take account of the new ways in which content is created and consumed in the Internet Age, such as blogs, online video sharing, wiki entries, mashups, remixes and more.

Jeremy Malcolm, CI IP Programme Coordinator says:

“In the Internet Age, consumers are creators as well as users of content. Existing copyright laws are from a bygone era that goes against the prevailing environment of creativity and sharing.

“Good IP law should not be about strict copyright protection as one small group of special interests demands, but about fair and open access that contributes to innovation broadly, and a vibrant and prosperous public domain. That’s why we’re calling for ‘fair use’ copyright laws to be extended around the world. ”

Download CI’s IP Watch List (pdf)

Note to Editors

i Consumers International (CI) is the only independent global campaigning voice for consumers. With over 220 member organisations in 115 countries, we are building a powerful international consumer movement to help protect and empower consumers everywhere. For more information, visit http://www.consumersinternational.org/

ii Consumers International’s IP Watch List is a survey of the copyright laws and enforcement practices of 16 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China (PRC), India, Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, UK and the USA. It is part of CI’s Access to Knowledge programme – http://www.a2knetwork.org/

Over 60 criteria were developed by a panel of IP experts, who weighted each of the criteria to account for its relative importance to consumers. Reports were then completed for the 16 countries in a collaborative effort by CI's members and partners worldwide.

The five best-rated countries were: India, South Korea, China, US and Indonesia

The five worst-rated countries were: United Kingdom, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil and Chile

iii The fair use exception in US copyright law allows consumers and others to use copyright works for any purpose that satisfies a four factor balancing test of fairness, based on the:

• purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit educational purposes;
• nature of the copyrighted work;
• amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
• effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

iv The US 301 Report is issued each year by the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). It rates countries on how closely they adhere to the USTR's standards of protection and enforcement of intellectual property law. Those countries that the USTR considers to fail its standards most egregiously are highlighted on a 'Priority Watch List'.