1. A Better Way Forward For P2P: Voluntary Collective Licensing
Jason Schultz EFF Staff Attorney ( )
Copyright ©2004 Electronic Frontier Foundation. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license. <

2. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
Presentation Outline
The Problem
The Context
The Choices
The Solution
The Future
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

3. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
The Problem
Copyright Infringement is an important issue
Copyright gives incentives to create art
Mass copying of works without paying creators fails to compensate them for their labors
File-sharing doesn’t compensate artists fairly
Some see boosts in concert tickets, CD sales
Others get nothing
Problem is how to fairly compensate artists
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

4. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
The Context
Universities have a strong role to play in dealing with copyright infringement
Historically, however, this role has been educational, not enforcement
Coursebooks, CD parties, Videogames
Never installed surveillance cameras, raided dorm rooms
As pressure intensifies to solve P2P, universities must assess appropriate role and resources.
What are you good at doing and how should you do it?
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

5. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
The Choices
Education
Enforcement
Alternative Content
VCL
Nothing
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

6. Tech Enforcement Won’t Work
Technical enforcement breaks the Internet
Packet “profiling” as flawed as “racial profiling”
Data is Data, especially when encrypted
Danger to Academic Freedom
Could chill searching for controversial subjects
Pirates will piggy-back on legitimate traffic
How many ports are you willing to block?
Bandwidth thresholds limit access to legitimate works
We don’t limit how many books students can read in the library; why should we limit how much they can read on the ‘Net?
Potentially Chills next great innovation
Yahoo, Google: started as student projects as Stanford
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

7. Legal Enforcement Won’t Work
P2P as popular as ever
Students traditionally defy absolute bans that don’t fit their social norms (e.g. alcohol)
Universities’ burden to respond to DMCA notices and subpoenas will only get worse
No end in sight
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

8. Alternative Content Won’t Work
Napster can’t compete with P2P
Selection (Entire History Of Music)
Access (Any Internet Connection)
Choice of Software (Any Application)
Choice of format (Any Player, Any CD)
Students don’t perceive Napster as paying artists
Still face the same resistance to buying CDs.
Gives students no ownership over solving this problem
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

9. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
The Solution: VCL
Artists and rightholders should be paid
Students should be free from surveillance
Everyone should have choices
Universities should be partners with both artists and students, not enforcers and spies.
Governmental intervention minimized
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

10. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
VCL: The Precedent
Broadcast Radio -- Pirates of the Airwaves
Played songs without permission or compensation
Musicians sued; case led to modern radio licensing
Collecting the Money
ASCAP/BMI/SESAC were formed
Collect blanket fees for all-you-can-play radio
Use casual enforcement and simple model to encourage compliance
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

11. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
VCL: The Precedent
Broadcast Radio: Distributing the Money
Sample Radio Playlists (~2 days/year/station)
Surveys (Arbitron)
Pay artists based on popularity of songplay
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

12. VCL: How Would Work For P2P
Collecting the Money
Copyright holders form new collection societies like ASCAP/BMI
Each user pays $5/month for an “all you can eat” license
60 Million U.S. Users = $300M/month in revenue
Paying Artists
Sample P2P Networks
Survey students who use P2P
Recruit volunteer “Nielsen” students to report playlists
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

13. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
VCL: Conclusion
Nothing is perfect, but time has come to explore solutions
This system pays artists; enforcement does not
Not price-fixing; $5 rate can be adjusted to market
Minimal government intervention, if any
Eliminates large part of universities’ burden to police, enforce, restrict, punish students.
Can focus on education and incentives to sign up or simply choose to pay for all students as part of student fees.
Gives students ownership over the solution
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019

14. A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
The Future
The Internet is One Giant Copy Machine
Infringement Scenarios and Burdens Will Only Get Worse
WiFi, Mobile Devices
Need to Set Normative Model Now
Spying and ubiquitous enforcement won’t work
Simple systems that pay creators will
A Better Way Forward: Voluntary Collective Licensing
4/9/2019