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Picture Providers Reject Free Online Culture – A BVPA Statement
ByBVPAAgainst the background of the World Intellectual Property Day (27th April 2012), the German Association of Picture Agencies (BVPA) has published a position paper which aims at providing a statement on the current discussion on copyright from the perspective of picture suppliers.
The discussion raises the suspicion that some young net politicians from all parties by aiming at gaining electors at the costs of creatives. A critical reflection of net political claims is necessary to protect the interests of copyright holders.
Five Points of the BVPA Statement
- The copyright law is acknowledged as a basic law according to Art. 14 and Art. 1, 2 of the German Constitution and as a human right according to Art. 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a significant law for the information society.
- Especially in the digital age, picture providers, photographers and picture agencies have to be remunerated reasonably for the time and expenses they invest for photographic equipment, computers, image editing, keywording, clearing of rights, marketing and further services.
- We regard the call for the reduction of the current term of copyright (70 years) after the death of the copyright holder as an expropriation of the rightsholder. In many cases, relatives have to compensate the material shortage of the copyright holder. We suggest therefore that they shall benefit from later remunerations.
- We reject the legalisation of file sharing. We think that it is irresponsible to leave the rightsholder with the risk of being copied at any time as long as the deletion of remaining files cannot be guaranteed and even the technical control and legal tracing shall be prevented.
- Over the years, the proponents of the culture flat rate have been unable to design and create an acceptable concept. It remains still unclear how the revenues of the concept will be shared in a fair way. Furthermore this model of remuneration which aims at sharing remunerations equally risks to ignore the individual achievements of creatives.
Please find the full statement attached to this article (in German only).
For further information on the copyright debate please visit the website of the BVPA: http://bit.ly/LMbRuB
File Attachment
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Stellungnahme_des_BVPA.pdf | 69.73 KB |
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