http://www.p2pon.com/2011/07/02/for-ericsson-file-sharing-is-not-an-issue/The telecommunication giant recently stated that file-sharing is not the catalyst of the copyright problem. Unlike statements that condemn file-sharing and its implications, this one didn’t manage apparently to be as attractive to media groups and the reason we point that out is the poor coverage the subject received in press.
The guys at TorrentFreak managed, however, to stir the waters a bit. Here are some excerpts from Ericsson’s article, written by none other than Rene Summer – the firm’s Director of Government and Industry Relations:
“Current restrictions have forced European consumers into a digital exile. Seeking an appropriate way to access legal digital content, and unable to satisfy this legitimate desire through a legitimate digital alternative, many resort to illegal file-sharing. Economic rights holders spare little expense in pursuing and prosecuting these individuals, and do not hesitate to ask courts or policymakers to mandate Internet service providers (ISPs) and other intermediaries to police such behavior”
“ISPs are being forced to act as digital security agents on behalf of economic rights holders by listening in, screening, surveying and filtering the exchange of information between consumers. Such strict enforcement further damages the prospects of legal digital alternatives by introducing the principle of innovation by permission. It also carries unwelcome echoes of the old Eastern-bloc surveillance societies that modern Europe has decisively rejected.”
“File-sharing is a symptom of a problem, rather than a problem in itself. This problem is the inadequate availability of legal, timely, competitively priced and wide-ranging choices of affordable digital-content offerings. Consumers also expect to be able to make decisions freely regarding when and how to consume the content of their choice. By clinging to outdated business methods such as windowing and territoriality, economic-rights holders are in fact creating the consumer behavior against which they so violently protest.”
If anyone wonders why the media, and especially the FCM, played the silent game on this one, it’s quite obvious; copyright enforcement equals power and no one wants to give that up.
However, Ericsson’s bold statement should be praised as they realized that the sustainability of the industries they depend on is directly connected to the consumer’s choice. Instead of hiding behind copyright laws, tech and media companies should come up with an improved business model that can challenge piracy.
More of Rene’s article can be found here.
http://www.ericsson.com/res//thecompany/docs/publications/business-review/2011/issue1/the-single.pdfIt's interesting how silent the media can be when it suits them.
