The availability, affordability and protection of content in digital Britain

The UK Government on Friday invited views on the role a 'digital rights agency' should play in protecting and promoting the legal use of copyright content online, and how industry, consumer groups and government can work together to create an environment where investment in creativity is rewarded.
Creators, commercial rights-holders and consumer groups are all asked to respond to a discussion paper exploring the potential benefits of a new agency and the impact it would have in combating unlawful online file-sharing and piracy.
Minister of State for Intellectual Property, David Lammy said: "The real prize here is a rights agency that sorts out the complexities that keep consumers on the right side of the law, and ensure artists get properly paid.
"We need to make it easier for consumers to do the right thing. The internet has become an integral part of daily life. You shouldn't need to be an underwriter to take out an insurance policy, and you shouldn't need legal training to surf the web."

Minister for Technology, Communications and Broadcasting, Stephen Carter, said:
"...in the new digital age, copyright infringement has become easier and more socially acceptable, so it's clear we need some form of legislative backstop for the protection of rights as well as new and innovative ways to access legal content."
He added:
"Today we have published proposals in the form of a Straw Man on digital rights. That Straw Man could be torched, tolerated or a touchstone for the start point of constructive debate and design. I for one hope it is the latter."
Key issues raised in the discussion paper published by the Intellectual Property Office today include:

• 
  How to educate and change consumer behaviour towards copyright material;


• How to support industry efforts in developing new and attractive legal ways for consumers to access content;


• How to support legislation to address consumer activity that breaches civil copyright law and how to tackle persistent infringement;


• How to enable technical copyright-support solutions that work for both consumers and content creators;


• Whether or not the Agency should be an independent industry body with back-up legal powers held by Ofcom


• How such an agency can be funded.

All these issues will be publicly addressed in a discussion forum later this spring but comments are welcome before then.
The concept of a 'digital rights agency' was initially recommended in the Digital Britain Interim report, published at the end of January. The report represents an ambitious and strategic plan to accelerate growth in the digital industries and cement the UK's position as a world leader for innovation, investment and quality.
For more information please contact: James Thomson at IPO press office 0207 5966 547 or Una Flynn at BERR press office 0207 215 5256.

Thinktank says UK will have problems providing broadband for all

Broadband thinktank Point Topic found that nearly 30 per cent of all households in Northern Ireland and more than a quarter of homes in Wales are currently unable to achieve internet speeds of two megabits per second, which the Government promised would be available to all homes by 2012.

"Towns such as Basingstoke and Milton Keynes which people might expect to be well connected have notspots," said Tim Johnson, chief analyst with Point Topic. "The scale of the task is massive and in order to achieve it there needs to be co-operation between government, the regulator and operators such as BT," he said.

Point Topic has produced a regional breakdown of areas that currently do not have much net speed. The thinktank has produced a map showing which areas of the country lack the infrastructure needed to deliver the high-speed broadband access outlined in the recent Digital Britain report.

The report’s author, Lord Carter, pledged that every UK home would have access to broadband by 2012, and set a minimum speed level of two megabits per second, a speed which the Government has determined would be sufficient for the delivery of online services.

But critics have warned that unless the internet infrastructure throughout the UK is sufficiently improved over the next few years, the Government’s target will remain unobtainable.

"We think that fibre is the right way to go. That will provide the UK with a future-proofed network," said Mr Johnson. BT has pledged to provide fibre to around 40% of the UK but with the caveat that "market conditions must be right".

The report, the full version of which is due in May, laid out the government's commitment to broadband and suggested that some of the gaps in coverage could be filled with mobile broadband.

But mobile broadband has met with criticism too, as it can be expensive, slow and service can be affected by the volume of users. “There are issues with the network and services drop off the more people who use it,” said Alex Salter, from broadband measurement site SamKnows.

Internet usage has become almost universal across middle Britain and over 15 million households have broadband. The average broadband Brit now spends more than 16 hours a week online and downloads can be 200 times as fast as in the last millennium. Many now rely on it as a tool to work fulltime from home or anywhere.

“Now we’ve reached the point where losing your connection or just being in ‘slowband land’ can be incredibly frustrating. Fast internet access has changed the way we work, listen to music, watch TV, stay in touch with our friends, shop and plan our lives, “Johnson points out. “It has touched every corner of our lives not just everyone’s life.”

“If you live in a densely populated area in the UK, chances are you’ll have access to over 2Mbps of bandwidth. About 84% of households are in the right place to get reasonable speeds according to our analysis,” says Johnson.

Government releases help package for UK businesses

The Government has released a help package for British businesses. The range of new help is being made available for those who need it, from people seeking employment or training, to small businesses with cashflow problems and larger businesses needing working capital.

There is a range of free support to find finance, raise productivity, or save money by reducing waste and saving energy. Whether you need to increase cashflow, keep your staff on, improve their skills and flexibility, or simply reduce costs, you can get help to keep your business healthy.

The support outlined in the 'Real help for business now' PDF guide helps to secure credit and finance for businesses by helping with managing your business in more difficult times and provides help with investing for the future.

You can get information on the packages of support available to businesses by visiting Business Link or by contacting your local Business Link adviser by calling 0845 600 9 006.

If your business is based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also get access to
real help with finance, managing your business and investing for the future through your local
business support networks:

• Wales: Flexible Support for Business: http://www.business-support-wales.gov.uk/realhelp.aspx or call 03000 6 03000.
• Scotland: www.bgateway.co.uk/realhelp or call 0845 609 6611 and http://www.hiebusiness.co.uk/
  or call 0845 609 6611.
• Northern Ireland: www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/realhelp or call
  0800 027 0639; and http://www.investni.com/ or call 028 9023 9090.

Or, to use an online interactive tool to identify for yourself areas of your business that could improve, click on the ‘Get a health check for your business’ link at Businesslink.