content//flatrate.org

Berlin Declaration on Collectively Managed Online Rights:
Compensation without Control!

In a joint statement international copyright scholars, practitioners and civil society activists urge a novel approach to compensating authors for the online use of their works.

//idea

The "Berlin Declaration" calls for an indirect compensation that has been time-tested for private copying since decades. Users would pay a flatrate for the right to share, and the online collecting society would pay authors and publishers according to the measured use of their works - without setting up a surveillance-system such as mandatory for Digital Rights Management (DRM).

//essentials

//declaration

The Declaration is available on the website of the "Wizards of OS" conference here.

It has now been included in the EU Commission's list of 98 out of 106 contributions submitted to COM(2004)261 final, authorised for publication.

//coming up

Starting in the next days, signatures for the Declaration will be collected Europe-wide on this webpage until the draft of the EU Directive on collective rights management is issued.

//background

The "Berlin Declaration" is an response to a Consultation by the European Commission on the on collective rights management. Interested circles were invited in a letter by Jörg Reinbothe (Head of Copyright Unit, European Commission Internal Market DG) to commit their statements on Collectively Managed Online Rights until June, 21th.

//statement to german government

A coalition of german civil society organisations in a statement in the ongoing digital copyright legislation also suggests a content flatrate. The Statement "Kompensation ohne Kontrolle" is adressed to the federal minister of justice.

//referred articles

//press