Copyright in the Digital Environment

This submission briefly reviews the dearth of empirical evidence that copyright policy is either effective or efficient. It then focuses on consumer rights, how these are unnecessarily undermined by copyright policy, and how this lack of balance between producer and consumer rights is radically worsened in a digital environment with legislated monopoly privileges. A poor consumer environment will impede the development of a flourishing digital sector. A range of specific issues are discussed briefly: double-dipping through technological protection measures (TPMs), the right for communities to access cultural material sold using copyright privileges, the excessive strength of copyright privileges, compliance costs and the proportionality of penalties.