Deutsche Bank Report Notes That It's Time To Rethink Copyright

from the but-the-report-is-copyrighted dept

Glyn Moody points us to an interesting report from Deutsche Bank suggesting that it's time to rethink copyright (Google translation from the original German blog post). If you know German, you can read the full report (pdf) or try to muddle through the Google translation of the report.

From what I can tell from the translation (and any German speakers, feel free to add to/correct/whatever), it looks like the report's authors are effectively saying what many of us have been pointing out for ages: that a very large number of people today ignore copyright because it gets in the way of doing perfectly normal and natural things online. Furthermore, it notes the rise of "remix culture" and how valuable that can be to society, and suggests that copyright all too often seems to get in the way of such things. A "translated" passage:

The copyright in its extreme form, "all rights reserved" can suppress creativity. In the worst case, inhibiting innovation potential. It raises the question whether, in the digital age, a conflict of interest exists between the understanding of copyright as a source or as a handicap for innovation.

The paper also points out the problems with DRM and how banning certain websites is a form of "censorship." On top of that, it discusses "alternatives" like Creative Commons and the fact that all sorts of interesting new business models are opening up because of this lack of respect for copyright. In the end, it notes that this is an opportunity:

Even though some traditional business models are doomed from the analog world from destruction, the digital world provides a wealth of new ideas and business models, especially in services. For this however, creativity is in demand.

Nice to see more folks recognizing that weaker copyright isn't necessarily bad for business, but is creating all sorts of opportunities and encouraging creativity in many areas. Of course, as one of the comments on the blog post notes, it's a shame that such a report... has a big copyright notice across it.

Filed Under: copyright, creative commons, rethinking
Companies: deutsche bank