Rupert Murdoch’s book publishing firm HarperCollins, whose stable includes David Starkey, Agatha Christie and JRR Tolkein, made an impassioned plea to the Government today not to water down copyright laws.
“If you do, you will jeopardise the creative industries’ growth and their international competitiveness,” HarperCollins’ international chief executive Victoria Barnsley warned on the opening day of the London Book Fair.
“I’m a passionate believer in the importance of a strong copyright framework as a key driver for economic growth,” Barnsley told an audience that was set to include culture minister Ed Vaizey. “I implore Ed Vaizey, don’t compromise the successful copyright framework which currently exists in UK law.”
Barnsley was referring to the Government’s recent Hargreaves Review of Copyright, which claimed that much of copyright law was archaic and should be swept away.
The review suggested the law on licensing copyright material could be relaxed and that people should be able to photocopy content or download it for their personal use.
“I know there are naysayers out there, those that argue that copyright is a bothersome regulation that stifles innovation,” Barnsley said, but she claimed that “not one jot of economic evidence was produced to support their case”.
Others in the books trade, including the Publishers Association, have criticised the Hargreaves Review.
More than 1500 exhibitors from 57 countries are attending the London Book Fair, which runs until Wednesday at Earl’s Court.
