UK royalties collector PRS For Music has resurrected the idea ISPs should pay for copyrighted content that their networks transfer without authorisation.
In a think paper, its chief economist Will Page writes: “With the introduction of the Digital Economy Act, the harm caused by the problem of piracy has to be measured, and if a problem can be measured it can be priced.” He presents two options…
1) “A dynamic compensation model, akin to the ‘cap and trade’ market for carbon emissions … Operators would face a fee for the transmission of unlicensed media on their networks, though that fee would be reduced in line with reductions in the volume of unlicensed media transmitted…”
2) “Alternatively, there is the ‘positive spillover’ approach, one that converts infringing media to non-infringing by way of a legal agreement … Network operators would
pay … a fee, and determine for themselves how best to capture the raw value of media on networks. A reduction of such fees might occur as a result of changes in the level of media transmitted that has been directly licensed from rights holders.”
It’s not just a thinkpiece in isolation. PRS For Music tells paidContent:UK: “We support it and think it is something that needs discussion and thought. We