Beware what you ask for: Australian research shows US model may harm creative industry if adopted in Hong Kong copyright law
PwC study finds that adoption of ‘fair use’ provision lowered economic contribution in Canada and Singapore
Overseas experience seems to suggest that a copyright exception modelled on the US system that is favoured by pan-democrat lawmakers could do more harm then good to the creative sector, according to Australian research.
The study by consulting firm PwC said adopting “fair use” – which allows the use of copyright material for any purpose if it is deemed fair – could “create disincentives to create new original copyright works”.
READ MORE: Hong Kong copyright bill explained: Why are people so concerned about this?
Citing Canada, the study found the country’s education publishing sector saw its share of GDP decline by 16 per cent between 2011 and 2013 after Ottawa adopted the “fair use” concept in its copyright regime. The number of jobs in the education sector fell from 7,650 to 6,400.
In Singapore, according to the study, its copyright industry revenue growth slowed from 14.16 per cent to about 6.68 per cent a year after the adoption of the “fair use” policy in the mid-2000s.
The PwC research, submitted to the Australian government’s productivity commission, was commissioned by several copyrights owners’ and media groups in Australia.
The Australian Law Reform Commission has recommended that the country’s copyright law be updated with the introduction of a “fair use” exception based on the US model.
In Hong Kong, pan-democrats are fighting for a “fair use” exemption to be added to the copyright bill being debated in the legislature. They argue that it will protect “freedom of expression” and “creativity”, although the bill tabled by the government sets out “fair dealing” as an exception.
