The Belgian ecological parties ‘Groen’ and ‘ECOLO’ ( Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales) advocate for the introduction of a so-called “global license” on copyright protected works. The Greens suggest that internet providers pay an objective contribution to the copyrights holders, to give the copyright owner some compensation for the loss of royalties on their creations due to illegal downloads. 

Groen senator Freya Piryns states that it is not possible to fight illegal downloading on the internet. “If we like it or not, the internet will always be a source of illegal music, software and movies”, Piryns concluded. According to Piryns the shut down of a website due to the illegal offering of copyright protected work is not an effective approach. This is what happened to the website ‘Megaupload’ last week. The FBI shut down Megaupload due to its offering of illegal music, videos and television programs. “There will be found an alternative to offer illegal content on the internet”, Piryns states. 

Therefore, the supporters of this proposal would like to see ISPs take up an active role. Above that, the Green parties state that the objective contribution may not be passed on to the consumers by the ISPs. Whether this plan is feasible remains to be seen. We will keep you updated on debates about this remarkable idea. 

Reference: De Morgen 

By : Deniece Teterissa