After three years of discussions, the new Intellectual Property and Copyright Law was ratified this morning by President Sebastián Piñera, who signed it during the opening ceremony of the Plaza de Armas Book Fair.
Luciano Cruz-Coke, Minister of Culture, emphasized: “Copyright protection must be an effective mechanism for the creation of economic value in our cultural industries”.
The Secretary of State pointed out that this law, which modifies the previous one created during the seventies, is “the most important legal reform of the last 40 years”. He also considered “this a good start to fight piracy. Anyhow, we need the interrelated action of all stakeholders to avoid the violation of intellectual property”.
This Law sets up procedures and sanctions for those who break it, and it also establishes a framework for exceptions and limitations, like photocopies or impressions that can be done at libraries.
The Minister also indicated that this Law contains a mechanism to establish sanctions: “The Consejo de la Cultura y las Artes will create a list of arbitrators for conflict resolution who will aid in the criminal phase of judicial resolutions”.
It also includes innovations related to Internet: it relieves the service provider of all responsibility when works are published without the author’s permission.
The President Sebastián Piñera, who signed the ratification on World Book Day, used the opportunity to highlight efforts intended to strengthen cultural industries, by committing to “stimulate the private sector’s contribution to culture, given that only 10% goes to this sector”.
During the ceremony, it was also expressed that one of the key objectives of this government is to establish, in every municipality, at least one public library supported by modern technologies that could allow democratization and easy access to reading.
Minister Cruz-Coke availed himself of the opportunity to remind the public that the Book Council funds are receiving applications: “This month five application areas will close. By the first week of June, three grants will be launched that will distribute 700 million Chilean pesos amongst creators and artists of the book and publishing industry.