[pp.int.general] direction for copyright?

[Reinier Bakels]

Currently I am at a conference in the US, organised by the "Trans Atlantic 
Consumer Dialog". Yesterday there was a panel on copyright. It seems that 
leading scholars converge to the idea that the interests of copyright owners 
are best met by collective agreements e.g. between ISPs and collective 
rights organisations.

While this avoids problems like massive monitoring, deterrent criminal 
sanctions, levies and DRM, I am not excited:
- Such schemes still are oriented towards traditional rights owners, and 
ignore the advent of user-provided "2.0" content
- In particular, again the (outdated) record companies primaily benefit. 
Well, some argue that the true author may benefit, but I don't quite 
understand how.
- The redistribution problem is not solved. It is generally acknowledged 
(even condified in Germany) that redistribution should - at least to some 
extent - support cultural diversity, but the mainstream obviously covers 
mass-culture. If cultural diversity is an issue, the Collective Rights 
organisations are supposed to make cultural policy. They are not suited for 
that. Fundamentally, under such a regulation the collected money becomes a 
tax - "no taxation without representation".

reinier