Join us for a heated debate about artists' rights on the internet. Or, about 'old industries sticking to their old models', as our guest, MEP Christian Engström of Sweden's Pirate Party claims. Cécile Despringre from the Society of Audiovisual Authors reb

Focus: Copyrights on the internet

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/14842403/m001-0031-en.srt

to download a CD or a film   free from the internet?

The number of sites allowing us   to share a piece of film or music

In this world of virtual hook-ups   where everything is within our reach,

how can we respect   the old, sacrosanct copyright laws?

And is downloading   from the internet only a loss,

We'll discuss it with our guests. First,   Andreas Dietl has met with some authors,

a photographer who has expanded   his client portfolio thanks to the internet,

and a cartoonist   in the capital of comic strips.

Brussels, the capital of Europe,   is known to many,

Brussels, the capital of comic strips,   perhaps a little less.

The city inspires François Schuiten   and Benoît Peeters.

where they create their   highly artistic brand of comic strips.

The mix of literature,   visual arts and architecture

with a generous Belgian   dash of surrealism appeals

and the duo's works have been translated

into most European   and several non-European languages.

This is much to Benoît Peeters' liking,

but he wonders   if he could sell his works even better

if they weren't available   on the internet,

on file sharing networks like BitTorrent.

in the minds of many,   especially young people,

the big companies   that talk about copyright -

and the artists who just have to manage.

Some people have a way of   exploiting the idea of copyright

in order to protect capitalistic interests,

but there are also creators who absolutely   need to be remunerated for their creation.

It's a right   and technology can't change that.

Those who download his works are often   those who also buy them in a shop.

Benoît Peeters doesn't think it's useful   to go after them with the police.

I think the artist shouldn't be involved   in laws like the HADOPI law in France,

where in theory people   could be prosecuted

I'm not in favour of it and I think   that few artists are in favour of it.

What's lacking is a legal framework for   what is common practice on the web -

file sharing between individuals,   mostly young,

who don't seek a profit, but want   to access works of culture freely.

I'm in favour of developing   a broad legal offering of content,

on a pay-per-use basis   rather than subscription.

Then for everything   that doesn't fit into that model,

I'm in favour of payments for circuits,   for the circulation of works, for flows,

and so they should be paid   by the large operators of this network.

Change of scenery - we are in   Leicestershire in the English Midlands.

a photographer who is known not only   for his hypnotic portraits of celebrities

ranging from actor Jude Law   to astronaut John Glenn,

but increasingly for the ingenious way he   uses the internet to build his reputation.

a photographer   despairing of his profession.

Worth is about to destroy more than half   of 111 limited and signed prints

of a photo that he took of writer   and web legend Cory Doctorow

and a signed manuscript page   to go with each.

But the destruction was part of the plan.

Worth made good profit on the pictures   and manuscript pages he sold

and collectors who bought them   can be sure their value will go up

but when I see this, I know   there is someone who would love

a Cory Doctorow signature   on an original manuscript.

And the only way to maintain its value   is to destroy it unfortunately.

Worth and Doctorow not only used blogs   and Twitter to reach out to their following,

they even posted the photos   and the novel for free download.

They put both   under a Creative Commons licence,

so users can pass the works on as long   as they state who the original author was,

don't modify them or use them   for commercial purposes.

It's sort of new media photo-economics...   That would be one way of putting it.

A lot of what Worth does   may sound counterintuitive,

but he's convinced this is how   most photographers will work

To talk about copyright   on the internet, I have with me

Cécile Despringre from   the Society of Audiovisual Authors,

Christian Engström   from the Group of the Greens

who will help us to understand   the wonderful world of the web.

Let's go straight into   the world of the web,

where distances are shorter   and everything seems possible.

Christian Engström, you were elected   for the Pirate Party in Sweden.

It seemed like a provocation here   but you won 7% of the vote.

What is the slogan of your party,   its manifesto?

The Pirate Party is about protecting   fundamental rights on the internet

and reforming copyright   and intellectual property

so that we can take advantage of this   fantastic thing that is the internet.

Fundamental rights, does that mean   no longer having the rules of the jungle?

Do you agree with this principle -   crudely summarised - of the Pirate Party?

It all depends on what you mean   by fundamental rights.

Authors believe that copyright   is a fundamental right,

a right recognised by the International   Declaration of Human Rights,

Focus: Copyrights on the internet

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