Publishers call for digital IP rights

Newspaper publishers are calling for new digital intellectual property rights.

As increasing numbers of consumers turn to the internet to read the news, publishers are becoming concerned about the issue of intellectual property in the digital environment.

They are therefore calling for new intellectual property rights that will prevent online news aggregators from using their work without payment for it at a time when many are struggling with falling advertising revenues.

A number of European newspaper and magazine publishers have asked the European Commission to look into the intellectual property issue and to consider strengthening existing copyright protections.

In a petition sent to media and telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding, they said: "Numerous providers are using the work of authors, publishers and broadcasters without paying for it.

"Over the long term, this threatens the production of high-quality content and the existence of independent journalism," they added.

Indeed, they said the aim of stronger copyright laws would be to ensure that quality journalism is able to thrive in the online world.

Several publishers and media groups have signed the petition, including News Corporation, Independent News and Media and the Daily Mail and General Trust.

Mathias Dopfner, chief executive of Axel Springer, another signatory, insisted that the internet is not the enemy of newspaper publishers.

Instead, he insisted it can represent "the future of journalism" provided that intellectual property is respected in the digital world as well as in the world of traditional publishing.

In April, the Associated Press threatened to take legal action against online news aggregators, accusing them of contributing to the decline in newspaper readership by using copyrighted material without permission.