ALCS responds to Hargreaves Review

On Friday 4th March ALCS submitted its response to the Hargreaves Review which outlined the success of the UK industries.

The submission recommended that government policy must evaluate carefully the role of the current structures that enable innovation. The report stated that the UK creative industries are “built upon the talent of creative individuals without which there would be no product to sell” and outlined that such individuals need to be “supported and incentivised”.

Another key point made was that income from streams such as ALCS and Public Lending Right (PLR) help to provide that vital incentive and support for writers at key points in their careers. 

Children’s writer Philip Pullman who was included as a case study for the submission said: "I am strongly in favour of secondary payments systems such as Public Lending Right and the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society. Before I had a bestselling book, the annual payments for the use of my work often made a difference to my ability to continue working in the way I was doing."

Other case studies included in the submission were from Stella Duffy, Mal Peet, Wendy Cope and screenwriter Paul Powell.

Voicing his concerns for alternatives like the US model, Mal said: "The PM appears to believe that the American ‘fair usage’ approach to copyright encourages ‘innovation’ whereas our system stifles it. Actually, the opposite is true. ‘Fair usage’ is so nebulous a concept that it occasions incessant litigation. What has happened in the States is that money has been diverted from writers and creators (who need it) into the coffers of lawyers (who don’t)."

To read the full submission please click here.

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