The Google Settlement
Google has made a unilateral decision to scan and digitise practically all books and make them available on-line to whomever wants them, often at cost or without any charge whatsoever.
The decision by Google has been made without consultation with or approval by the authors, their publishers or agents. Google's original intention was to implement the project without payment to the authors, which would have been plain theft.
In the USA, two separate class actions have been taken against Google. These class actions were successful (to a point) and have resulted in The Google Settlement. Under the settlement, it is proposed that Google will be required to pay authors the breathtaking sum of $60.00 per book scanned and a percentage of the profit – if there is any – deriving from the online or other distribution of a particular author's work.
The ECA Executive Committee addressed the issue at its Berlin meeting on the 7th of September and decided to join forces with the European Writers' Council (EWC), which has made its position clear in a statement to the European Commission.
…Authors in Europe, either collectively and/or individually, have made different choices regarding the settlement, and have reacted differently (e.g. Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, and United Kingdom); EWC is monitoring their decisions at national level. Our conclusion in the current situation is that it would be very beneficial for the future of authors and their works that the European works be excluded from the conditions and terms of the Settlement, if the latter were to go through. If a Settlement would remain as the only solution, then European authors and rights holders should have the opportunity to settle their own agreements with Google, following the relevant national legislations.
…If the proposed Settlement Agreement goes ahead, the result will be far reaching. The Commission is advised to consider thoroughly the imminent legitimisation, privileging and subsequent emergence of Google as the largest monopoly for digital publishing at a global scale, which would transform the free and competitive market conditions of the book-chain, and would leave such an important part of our cultural heritage in the hands of one commercial stakeholder.
The full EWC statement and ECA's short resolution in support of it are available on http://www.eca.dk/news/index.html.
Artists Make Norway's Minister of Culture Change Position on Pirate Copying
Up to the Norwegian parliamentary election on the 14th of September, some of the parties in the governing red/green coalition proposed to legalise pirate copying and to compensate authors from the state budget or via special taxes. The Norwegian artists' organisations reacted with the petition "Share - not Steal" in which they protested against the systematic and organised pirate copying of digital material and asked the politicians to secure the enforcement of existing laws.
ECA was asked to endorse the petition - and did so in a short statement issued on the 11th of September, in which it pointed out that "…the spirit of this petition complies completely with our organisation’s mission statement and we will back this petition with all means available to the ECA. We shall be informing our members and others who have the artists’ interest at heart on our stand on this matter." The ECA statement was passed to the Norwegian press and resulted in an article in the major Norwegian paper Aftenposten on Sunday the 13th of September with the headline "Massive EU-support for Norwegian action against piracy".
The Norwegian minister of culture, Trond Giske, retreated from his stated position saying that the private copying issue had to be further examined and that all stakeholders will be invited to take part in a commission on the matter.
The red/green government was re-elected with a small margin the following day and Trond Giske has been reappointed as Minister of Culture.
The text of the Norwegian petition and ECA's statement can be seen at http://www.eca.dk/news/index.html.
Latvian Film Centre Threatened by the Financial Crisis
At the request of the Council of Creative Unions of Latvia, ECA wrote an open letter to the Latvian Minister of Culture Ints Dalderis on the 12th of August in support of the Latvian filmmakers' protests against a proposal to close the National Film Centre of Latvia and instead include some of its functions under the Ministry of Culture as a part of a crisis reconstruction of the public sector.
The Nation Film Centre was established in 1991 as a state financed, but independent agency and has, in co-operation with the Latvian film industry, been able to secure a production of films based on Latvian experiences and cultural values.
In the letter, ECA expressed its fear that the closing the National Film Centre would lead not only to a reduction of the financial support for Latvian film production and international co-productions, but also a reduction of the freedom of artistic expression, which would be at variance with the provisions of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which Latvia ratified in 2007.
On August 12th, the day when negotiations took place between artists' organisations and the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian filmmakers organised a protest action in which 200 film professionals voiced their support for retaining the independent status of the National Film Centre. A film set was created around the building of the Ministry of Culture to shoot a short film as an artistic statement. The title was "The Dream of Eisenstein" - a reference to Sergey Eisenstein, who was born in Riga. The action, with filmmakers working instead of striking, was filled with joy and positive energy.
The negotiations resulted in the Minister agreeing to the National Film Centre continuing as a separate, independent body. This decision was subsequently supported by a Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers, but has yet to be approved the Cabinet of Ministers.
ECA's open letter can be seen at http://www.eca.dk/news/index.html.
Artesnet Presents Creative Partnerships
Since 2008, ECA has been part of Artesnet Europe, a network initiated by ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts), which connects practitioners from the creative/cultural sector, teaching staff from art schools, educators, and artistic researchers.
ECA is represented in Artesnet by Executive Committee member Annette Hollywood, who is active in a working group "Strand 1" on Creative Partnerships.
At the ELIA Teachers' Academy - 4 days with workshops, presentations, master classes and films on the overarching theme 'Storytelling' - that took place in Sofia 1-4 July, Strand 1 presented examples of Creative Partnerships, typically between an art school and an outside partner.
Strand 1 has produced a comprehensive article on their findings to-date: "Creative Partnerships as a process of knowledge creation and cultural participation" which can be seen at http://www.eca.dk/debate/index.html.
Civil Society Platform on Multilingualism
Executive Committee member Irina Horea will be ECA's representative in this new initiative by the EU Commission, which has it first gathering in Brussels on the 23rd of September. The platform aims to
1 raise awareness of the value and opportunities of the EU's linguistic diversity;
1 encourage the removal of barriers to intercultural dialogue and social inclusion;
1 achieve the Barcelona objective to communicate in two foreign languages.
ECA enters the platform with the wish to promote a discussion among its members and to channel proposals and contributions from the network back to the platform. The works of film directors, stage directors, actors, singers and songwriters are assets for preserving and developing the diversity of languages and for the promotion of multilingualism in Europe.
EXPERIENCING THE ARTS | Artists' Contribution to Creative Thinking & European Innovation
ECA 2009 Annual Conference will be held Malta on the 30th of October and 1st of November. Edward deBono – the originator of Lateral Thinking and a Maltese native – will be the Conference's keynote speaker. Professor deBono, an ambassador for the EU's year of Creativity & Innovation and internationally renowned motivational speaker, will deliver a paper on "The Creativity of Lateral Thinking".
The event is organised in co-operation with ECA Malta and the support of The Malta Ministry of Education and Culture, Air Malta and The Grand Hotel Excelsior. The Grand Hotel Excelsior, which is in Floriana beside the gates of Valletta, Malta's capital, will accommodate the conference's international delegates and serve as the conference’s venue. The Conference has generated considerable interest in Malta. To date, delegates from 19 countries have registered and a line-up of distinguished speakers - 4 artists, 2 MEPs and 2 researchers - is in place for this event. The full programme and conference details can be obtained from the ECA office and are available on http://www.eca.dk/activities/index.html. Registrations can take place as long as rooms are available.
ECA's Annual General Assembly open to member organisations will follow the conference on November 2nd.
Looking forward to welcoming you to our Conference in Malta!
ECA Executive Committee:
Michael Burke, sculptor, Ireland, President
Narcy Calamatta, actor, Malta, Vice-President
Zuzana Brejcha, film director, Austria
Torben Heron, visual artist, Denmark
Annette Hollywood, visual artist, Germany
Irina Horea, literary translator, Romania
Harri Wessman, composer, Finland
Elisabet Diedrichs, Executive Director
European Council of Artists, Borgergade 111, DK-1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark
phone: +45-35384401, fax: +45-35384417, email: eca@eca.dk, web: www.eca.dk