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Heavy-handed regulation will not help to nurture creative talent in the digital age
In tough times there's nothing strange in businesses coming to the Government for help. But there's one type of industry that was established in the lobby chamber long before the credit crunch: publishers and distributors of information goods and, in particular, the music industry.
Challenged by the revolutionary distribution mechanism that is the internet, big publishers are seeing their power and profits diminish.
Faced with the choice of accepting this and innovating or, King Canute-style, staying the tide of change, they're choosing the latter option, and looking to Parliament for help with some legislative sandbags.
Their desires are close to getting realised. In response to music industry demands to fast-track the legal process that sees copyright infringers brought to justice, the Government has entered a final stage of consultation. Proposals to force internet service providers to act against individual citizens alleged to be illicitly swapping copyrighted material are expected in the Queen's Speech.
Large numbers are affected, both in terms of people apparently engaged in illicit file-sharing (estimated at seven million) and the much larger number who might share a home internet connection with these copyright infringers.