The Australian Government has released draft copyright reform legislation for comment, with input due soon. It is seeking feedback on the legislation, which will help the cultural, education, research and government sectors to provide services in a digital environment, and provide clear and reasonable access to copyright materials while maintaining the incentives and protections for content creators. As part of this, the Government is also reviewing other related copyright issues and wants comments on those as well.
The fact that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic and asking ourselves whether 2021 has actually ended and a new year begun is no good reason to ignore some of the important and pressing matters that keep arising. I discovered just before Christmas that the Australian Government had released for comment draft copyright reform legislation, with comments due in the New Year.
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| 'It may not be mining but they mine a far richer seam – authentic and rich content that has already been recognised internationally for its high value, just like our iron and coal.' |
Reforms to support content services in the digital age
I had to search far and wide to find information about it and in the end obtained my information initially from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) website. ALIA sums it up, ‘The Federal Government is seeking feedback on draft copyright reform legislation, released on 22 December 2021. The copyright reforms will help the cultural, education, research and government sectors to provide services in a digital environment, and provide clear and reasonable access to copyright materials while maintaining the incentives and protections for content creators. ALIA, individually and through the Australian Libraries Copyright Coalition (ALACC) have been advocating strongly for reforms to support libraries in the digital age. The Government is also taking this opportunity to conduct a review of the technological protection measure (TPM) exceptions in the Copyright Regulations, as required by the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, and is seeking input.’
Why do Governments persist in releasing policy and reports at this dead
time of the year when no-one will notice them? Uncharitably it could be
said that often it’s a deliberate way of burying controversial
discussions, but much more likely it is bad planning. Having stumbled
across the material I thought to myself ‘I must publicise this’, but
then, because it was Christmas, kept putting it off. However, it’s
getting urgent, so here is the news, if you haven’t heard about it
already.
Lifeblood of artists and the creative economy
Intellectual
property can seem like a dry legal matter but it is integrally tied to
the lifeblood of artists and the creative economy. Arts and cultural
funding has an important role to play in supporting Australia’s cultural
life and arts and cultural production. However, the so-called copyright industries, a different world to that of grant funding, offer great promise for the future resilience of the creative sector.
The trouble with discretionary grants funding is that it is only a
small (and shrinking) part of the smorgasbord of support needed for the
creative sector. Rights-based support is much better because it offers a
stream of income to artists, no matter how small, that doesn't depend
on the random chance of which government is in office and which Minister
is in charge, with whatever personal enthusiasm or whim they may have.
After ABBA, in an unexpected break from its traditional way of building national wealth from natural resources, Sweden managed to discover a new source of income. It was not as you would expect coal or oil. Rather than oil what it had discovered was song royalties, part of a fundamental change in the nature of modern economies which transformed them from relying solely on natural resources, transport and manufacturing to make creative content a new form of resource mining.
Government role far more than funding
The Government’s involvement in support for creativity and culture includes a direct role in the arts and culture sector through its own agencies, such as the national cultural institutions, its place in education and training subsidies and through its own arts training bodies, accreditation frameworks and curriculum, through tax incentives or deductions, schemes like the lending right programs that compensate authors for the use of their publications in public libraries, frameworks for intellectual property rights and payments, local content regulations, and the setting of standards and protocols that govern such things as Internet content. This doesn’t even include the myriad of other ways in which Government agencies which are not mainly concerned with arts and culture, intersect with the arts and culture sphere.
When we look at the role of government in supporting Australian arts and culture, we often focus on funding. Yet, as the preceding list demonstrates, government support for arts and culture extends far more broadly than funding – and in fact much of this support is far more important than funding. Often overlooked but critical is the role of regulation, legislative frameworks (including Intellectual Property), the establishing of standards and support for international conventions.
Pivotal to jobs and income
To take just one example, in attempting to address the major issue of Indigenous disadvantage, , it is critical to recognise that one of the most important economic resources possessed by First Nations communities is their culture. Creative firms are already developing which draw on that cultural content. Through the intellectual property that translates it into a form that can generate income in a contemporary economy, that culture is pivotal to jobs and to income. It may not be mining but they mine a far richer seam – authentic and rich content that has already been recognised internationally for its high value, just like our iron and coal.
Given the critical importance of intellectual property to artists and the creative economy, getting the legal framework right is a major priority. You can provide comment about these important issues by making a submission to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications using the form on its website or by emailing copyright.consultation@communications.gov.au by 5pm 11 February 2022.
See also
‘Short arts updates and irreverent cultural commentary about contemporary Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of the information age’, 'indefinite article' on Facebook.
An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future
‘My
blog “indefinite article” is irreverent writing about contemporary
Australian society, popular culture, the creative economy and the
digital and online world – life in the trenches and on the beaches of
the information age. Over the last ten years I have published 166
articles about creativity and culture on the blog. This is a list of all
the articles I have published there, broken down into categories, with a
brief summary of each article. They range from the national cultural
landscape to popular culture, from artists and arts organisations to
cultural institutions, cultural policy and arts funding, the cultural
economy and creative industries, First Nations culture, cultural
diversity, cities and regions, Australia society, government, Canberra
and international issues – the whole range of contemporary Australian
creativity and culture’, An everyday life worth living – indefinite articles for a clean, clever and creative future.
Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times
‘We
live in troubled times – but then can anyone ever say that they lived in
times that weren’t troubled? For most of my life Australia has suffered
mediocre politicians and politics – with the odd brief exceptions – and
it seems our current times are no different. Australia has never really
managed to realise its potential. As a nation it seems to be two
different countries going in opposite directions – one into the future
and the other into the past. It looks as though we’ll be mired in this
latest stretch of mediocrity for some time and the only consolation will
be creativity, gardening and humour’, Beyond a joke – surviving troubled times.
Understanding the economy of the future - innovation and its place in the knowledge economy, creative economy, creative industries and cultural economy
Remaking the world we know – for better or worse
‘Given
the Government cannot avoid spending enormous sums of money if it is to
be in any way capable and competent, this is an unparalleled
opportunity to remake Australia for the future. Usually opportunities
such as this only arise in rebuilding a country and an economy after a
world war. It is a perfect moment to create the sort of clean, clever
and creative economy that will take us forward in the global world for
the next hundred years. Unfortunately a failure of imagination and a
lack of innovative ambition will probably ensure this doesn’t happen any
time soon’, Remaking the world we know – for better or worse.
The old normal was abnormal – survival lessons for a new riskier world
‘When I hear the call to get back to normal, I think ‘what was normal
about the old normal?’ The sudden shutdown of large sectors of the
economy highlighted drastically how precarious was the situation of vast
chunks of Australian society, in particular but not exclusively, the
creative sector. The business models implemented by the Government to
help businesses survive and employees keep their jobs didn’t work at all
for those who had already been happily left at – or even deliberately
pushed to – the margins of society and the economy. In good times the
creative sector is flexible and fast at responding. In bad times it is a
disaster, as the failure of the COVID-19 support packages for the
sector shows’, The old normal was abnormal – survival lessons for a new riskier world.
Better than sport? The tricky business of valuing Australia’s arts and culture
‘Understanding,
assessing and communicating the broad value of arts and culture is a
major and ongoing task. There has been an immense amount of work already
carried out. The challenge is to understand some of the pitfalls of
research and the mechanisms and motivations that underpin it. Research
and evaluation is invaluable for all organisations but it is
particularly important for Government. The experience of researching
arts and culture in Government is of much broader relevance, as the arts
and culture sector navigates the tricky task of building a
comprehensive understanding in each locality of the broader benefits of
arts and culture. The latest Arts restructure makes this even more
urgent.’, Better than sport? The tricky business of valuing Australia’s arts and culture.
Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity
‘When I was visiting Paris last year, there was one thing I wanted to do
before I returned home – visit the renowned French bakery that had
trained a Melbourne woman who had abandoned the high stakes of Formula
One racing to become a top croissant maker. She had decided that being
an engineer in the world of elite car racing was not for her, but rather
that her future lay in the malleable universe of pastry. Crossing
boundaries of many kinds and traversing the borders of differing
countries and cultures, she built a radically different future to the
one she first envisaged’, Crossing boundaries – the unlimited landscape of creativity.
‘When I first heard that Victorian regional gallery, Bendigo Art Gallery, was planning an exhibition about contemporary Indigenous fashion I was impressed. The Gallery has had a long history of fashion exhibitions, drawing on its own collection and in partnership with other institutions, notably the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is fascinating to consider how a leading regional Australian museum and an internationally renowned museum on the global stage, while in many ways so different, have so much in common. The exhibition is far more than a single event in a Victorian regional centre – it is an expression of a much broader contemporary Indigenous fashion phenomenon nation-wide. It hints at the potential of the creative economy and creative industries to build stronger communities. Both the economic importance and the community and social importance of creativity and culture are tightly interlinked because of the way in which creativity and culture are integral to everyday life and the essential activities that make it up’, After a fashion – creative industries from First Nations culture.
‘Making a living in the developing creative economy is no easy task. For a viable career, flexibility and creativity are crucial. For this a strategic outlook and a grasp of the major long-term forces shaping Australian creativity and culture is essential. To help foster this amongst emerging cultural sector practitioners, a new flagship course, a Master of Arts in Creative and Cultural Futures, was launched at the University of Canberra in 2019, building on earlier experiments in aligning research and analysis with real world cultural sector experience’, Making a living – building careers in creative and cultural futures.
Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles
‘After three weeks travelling round the North Island of New Zealand, I’ve had more time to reflect on the importance of the clean and clever industries of the future and the skilled knowledge workers who make them. In the capital, Wellington, instead of the traditional industries that once often dominated a town, like the railways or meatworks or the car plant or, in Tasmania, the Hydro Electricity Commission, there was Weta. It’s clear that the industries of the future can thrive in unexpected locations. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. These skills which Weta depends on for its livelihood are also being used to tell important stories from the past’, Industries of the future help tell stories of the past – Weta at work in the shaky isles.
Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans
‘In many ways design is a central part of the vocabulary of our time and integrally related to so many powerful social and economic forces – creative industries, popular culture, the digital transformation of society. Design is often misunderstood or overlooked and it's universal vocabulary and pervasive nature is not widely understood, especially by government. In a rapidly changing world, there is a constant tussle between the local and the national (not to mention the international). This all comes together in the vision for the future that is Design Canberra, a celebration of all things design, with preparations well underway for a month long festival this year. The ultimate vision of Craft ACT for Canberra is to add another major annual event to Floriade, Enlighten and the Multicultural Festival, filling a gap between them and complementing them all’, Designs on the future – how Australia’s designed city has global plans.
Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities
‘It is becoming abundantly clear that in our contemporary world two critical things will help shape the way we make a living – and our economy overall. The first is the central role of cities in generating wealth. The second is the knowledge economy of the future and, more particularly, the creative industries that sit at its heart. In Sydney, Australia’s largest city, both of these come together in a scattering of evolving creative clusters – concentrations of creative individuals and small businesses, clumped together in geographic proximity. This development is part of a national and world-wide trend which has profound implications’, Creativity at work – economic engine for our cities.
‘Across Australia, local communities facing major economic and social challenges have become interested in the joint potential of regional arts and local creative industries to contribute to or often lead regional revival. This has paralleled the increasing importance of our major cities as economic hubs and centres of innovation’, The immense potential of creative industries for regional revival.
Design for policy innovation – from the world of design to designing the world
The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future
‘The swan song of the Creative Industries Innovation Centre, ‘Creative Business in Australia’, outlines the experience of five years supporting Australia’s creative industries. Case studies and wide-ranging analysis explain the critical importance of these industries to Australia’s future. The knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape, is both clever and clean. Where the creative industries differ completely from other knowledge economy sectors is that, because they are based on content, they draw on, intersect with and contribute to Australia’s national and local culture’, The clever business of creativity: the experience of supporting Australia's industries of the future.
My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world
‘My nephew just got a job in Wellington New Zealand with Weta Digital, which makes the digital effects for Peter Jackson’s epics. Expertise, specialist skills and industry pockets can occur just about anywhere, as long as you have connectivity, talent and a framework of support that makes it possible. This is part of the new knowledge economy of the future, with its core of creative industries and its links to our cultural landscape. Increasingly the industries of the future are both clever and clean. At their heart are the developing creative industries which are based on the power of creativity and are a critical part of Australia’s future – innovative, in most cases centred on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally. This is transforming the political landscape of Australia, challenging old political franchises and upping the stakes in the offerings department’, My nephew just got a job with Weta – the long road of the interconnected world.
‘The developing creative industries are a critical part of Australia’s future – clean, innovative, at their core based on small business and closely linked to the profile of Australia as a clever country, both domestically and internationally.’ Creative industries critical to vitality of Australian culture.
Applied creativity
‘I have been dealing with the issue of creativity for as long as I can remember. Recently, I have had to deal with a new concept—innovation. All too often, creativity is confused with innovation. A number of writers about innovation have made the point that innovation and creativity are different. In their view, innovation involves taking a creative idea and commercialising it. If we look more broadly, we see that innovation may not necessarily involve only commercialising ideas. Instead the core feature is application—innovation is applied creativity. Even ideas that may seem very radical can slip into the wider culture in unexpected ways’, Applied creativity.
Creative industries – applied arts and sciences
‘The nineteenth century fascination with applied arts and sciences — the economic application of nature, arts and sciences — and the intersection of these diverse areas and their role in technological innovation are as relevant today for our creative industries. From the Garden Palace, home of Australia’s first international exhibition in 1879, to the Economic Gardens in Adelaide’s Botanic Gardens these collections and exhibitions lay the basis for modern Australian industry. The vast Garden Palace building in the Sydney Botanic Gardens was the Australian version of the great Victorian-era industrial expositions, where, in huge palaces of glass, steel and timber, industry, invention, science, the arts and nature all intersected and overlapped. Despite burning to the ground, it went on to become the inspiration for what eventually became the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences — the Powerhouse Museum’, Creative Industries.
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