Written evidence submitted by the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec)

I am writing on behalf of The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an all-volunteer organisation that w orks to support policies and legislation that foster a vibrant, innovative and sustainable digital economy for Britain. We speak in particular for tech-driven startups and SM Es, both in Silicon Roundabout and throughout the country, and we are closely involved in a number of government and private initiatives for promoting technological entrepreneurship.

As you know, the Independent Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, chaired by Professor Hargreaves, published a report in May on potential changes to IP laws to support growth and innova tion. The Government announced in early August its broad agreement with, and intention to legislate for, Professor Hargreaves’s recommendations. I am writing today to express Coadec’s strong support for the Government in its intention to implement these recommendations.

The Hargreaves report represents a watershed for this country’s digital economy. The report recognises-as many digital businesses and entrepreneurs have known for a long time-that the nation’s intellectual property laws, and in particular copyright law, must adapt to business, social and technological change. As Professor Hargreaves says, "Laws designed more than three centuries ago with the express purpose of creating economic incentives for innovation by protecting creators’ rights are today obstructing innovation and economic growth."

The recommendations set forth in the report would, if implemented, go a long way toward righting that imbalance. They fully embrace and support the benefits of innovation by the creative and artistic communities while ensuring that the benefits of innovation in the digital sphere can be fully realised as well. This is why t he recommendations have received s uch s trong support from leaders of the Internet economy and were cited, at the recent e-G8 meeting in Paris, as best practice for copyright law in the digital age.

Innovation and commercialisation by digital businesses has the potential to be a key
component of Britain’s economy and play an ever-more important role in years to come. With the right support and legal environment, Britain can produce many of the great digital businesses in the coming years and decades. It would therefore be a tremendous shame if the good work the G overnment and private sector are doing for digital innovation on so many other fronts were to be undermined by a failure to seize the opportunity presented by the Hargreaves review to reform copyright law to make it suitable for the modern age.

Jeff Lynn

5 September 2011