Scale of Copyright Issues Exceeds Culture Ministry's Grasp, Says Minister
The Ministry of Culture, currently headed by former Justice Minister Rein Lang, will give up its role administering copyright issues, which Lang said have grown too complex for the institution.
Minister of Culture Rein Lang told ERR radio that currently the Economic Affairs Ministry, Patent Office, and the two above ministries are all involved in this field and that it is not an efficient system in a world where, he said, digital rights violations pose an existential threat to artists.
"I always said as Minister of Justice that the field could be the province of the Justice Ministry, which could then hire proper advisers to deal with this and get up to date with what is going on in the world," said Lang.
He said that copyright issues used to be a clearly defined part of intellectual property statutes. But not anymore.
"If the work of an author can be freely used and authors are not paid for it, authors will die out," said Lang. "These topics are relevant today, it is all related to technological progress and the hands of the Culture Ministry will be too weak."
Kristopher Rikken