Copyright Myths Exposed

1st July 2015

Copyright and the Digital Single Market: Busting the Myths, a paper released today by The PA, exposes the major myths and inaccuracies around copyright and the digital single market.

 With the European Commission and European Parliament actively considering proposals to develop the digital single market, this paper aims to highlight and rebut some of the most consistently made false charges against copyright. 

These range from the accusation that a digital single market is not possible without copyright reform, to the charge that text and data mining is not possible without an exception to copyright. 

Commenting, The PA Chief Executive Richard Mollet, said: 

“It is time to debunk the long-pedalled myth that copyright is an obstacle to growth in the digital economy. 

“When you look at the success of publishing and other creative industries in developing online products and services it is palpably untrue – copyright is the means by which the digital economy functions, allowing works to be made available to consumers and rewarding creators and the companies which invest in them.

 “In order to undermine copyright, people often wrongly cite it as the source of problems in the digital single market; or, they falsely claim not to be able to do things which actually they can. Also, we often hear people propose that copyright is a block to them doing things which would be unfair and damaging to authors and publishers.

 “This paper aims to address some of the most frequently cited myths to clear the ground for a proper debate about the role of copyright in delivering the digital single market for Europe.”

Mythbuster Download Available here.

Press Release Download Available here.