For 153 years before the Statute of Anne, The Stationers were the only agency for protection of copyright – albeit including seizing illegal books and burning them. Tales of smashed unapproved presses also abound. For many, copyright can be just as contentious today, as demonstrated by recent debates surrounding the introduction of the Digital Economy Act and before it the report on Digital Britain.
The site puts into the public domain an important collection of papers which set out the arguments around copyright and explain why the protection of intellectual property is still so critical to a successful creative economy. The site, with another 16 papers expected, will provide a resource for students, researchers and commentators on the copyright debate.
Other contributors include Dr. Sarah Thomas, the Bodleian Librarian, Roger Parry, chairman of Future plc and Najma Rajah, Senior Economic Adviser, Public Policy, BBC and the site will link with a series of video interviews on U-Tube about the debate being developed by Napier University, Edinburgh.
The report has been compiled for The Stationers’ Company by Trevor Fenwick, chairman of DPA, and Ian Locks, former PPA CEO and now a Court Assistant of The Stationers’ Company.
Said Ian Locks: “The launch of the website, with 16 contributions so far, is the first of three events during the year marking the development of the current copyright regime. In the autumn The Company will be publishing a collection of the works through Wildy and Son, the legal publishers, and the papers will also form the basis for two events at Stationers’ Hall on Monday 8 November, an academic conference organised by University College, London, and an evening forum.”
