Call it by its name – this is theft; Guardian, 11/23/09

Richard Scudamore, Guardian; Call it by its name – this is theft:

The Digital Economy bill must pass safely or the creative industries will start to die

"Part of the strength of the British economy recently has been its ability to adapt as the world, and what consumers expect, have changed. Its flexibility, resilience and mixed nature should stand us in good stead as we, and the rest of the world, exit recession.

Nowhere should this be more so than in the UK's creative economy. We are leaders in film, music, publishing, TV production and sports rights – British popular culture, sport and production values are viewed as among the best in the world. This creative sector now accounts for more than 8% of our GDP and puts us in a good position to take advantage of the ever-increasing "new economy" – and of emerging markets as the takeup of technology advances.

There are threats as well as opportunities, not least the challenges presented by online copyright infringement, more commonly known as piracy. I prefer to call it by its real name – digital theft.
The reality is that unauthorised peer-to-peer filesharing, among other forms of illegal streaming, presents a very real threat. These burgeoning industries are based on a high-investment model, driving consumer demand – or in the Premier League's case, fan demand – by providing what the public want: a quality product. In football, this entails acquiring, or developing, the best possible talent and playing the matches in arguably the finest club stadiums in the world. The whole industry benefits.

It's the same with film or music – the investment model only works if you are giving consumers what they want. The very fact we are providing great content is the main reason people want to try to take it for nothing – if it wasn't very good, I doubt it would be of interest. There is not much of a market for the live streaming of the matches played on Sundays on Hackney Marshes.
There is much debate about how the creative industries should be reacting to digital theft – developing business models, educating their consumers, seeking regulatory intervention and legislative protection. That is why we have come together to form the Creative Coalition; we recognise that inevitably the answer is a mixture of all of these.

The digital economy bill demonstrates that the government is aware of the importance of these industries. It also sets out how the different areas of the creative economy can work together to tackle digital theft. The graduated response to repeat offenders, sharing the cost of enforcement and setting out responsibilities will be just as useful to the ISPs as the content providers.

The bill is a start, but it needs to stay in good shape as it progresses because digital theft is reaching epidemic proportions and shows no signs of abating. Currently, it is estimated that more than 6 million people illegally fileshare regularly, and the UK leads the world in illegal downloads of TV programmes, with up to 25% of all online TV piracy taking place here. This is a statistic that should fill us with little pride.

Without the safe passage of the bill – requiring ISPs to take firm measures against unauthorised filesharers who are currently streaming and downloading with virtual impunity – the marker that this is theft isn't even set down, educating consumers cannot begin in earnest, businesses cannot begin to develop new models because the market won't be functioning properly and, most importantly of all, the current levels of investment that create jobs as well as talent will be lost. And that is when the real cost of digital theft would become apparent.

• Richard Scudamore is the chief executive of the Premier League and a member of the Creative Coalition"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2009/nov/23/creativ-coaltion-digital-bill