Various media outlets are today carrying an AAP report of a survey that purports to show increased support for the NBN. Had these outlets dug a bit deeper they might have found that the story was somewhat different.
The Swiss government has, after a parliamentary study, decided to make no change in its copyright laws which means that downloading for personal use will continue to be legal.
As in many other countries, the film and music industry in Switzerland has been complaining about a dramatic loss of revenue due to online downloads, claiming that this could bring about a crisis in Swiss cultural industries.
As a result, the upper house of parliament was asked to investigate whether measures were needed against copyright infringement.
While the panel found that one in three Swiss over the age of 15 downloaded copyrighted material from the internet, it concluded that despite numerous media reports and awareness campaigns if was extremely difficult to know which downloads were legal and which were not.
The investigation found that the percentage of personal income that was spent on these industries had not changed over time. Whatever was saved by downloading was spent on cultural activities - on films, music or attending live events.
The report advised production companies, especially the large foreign-owned ones, to adapt to changed consumer behaviour. It said their fears were unfounded and were based on their refusal to change.
Due to this, the investigation concluded there was no need for any change in the copyright legislation.
(Babelfish translation of the parliamentary press release is here.)
David Frost
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