The government and the opposition were very much in agreement during the parliamentary debate on intellectual property rights on Monday.
Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said intellectual property is not a subject commonly discussed in public, yet it affects everybody.
The proposed bill, according to the minister, is to protect intellectual property rights and to ensure that the protection of such rights is enforced. “Through this law, we want to ensure that anyone who sacrifices time and money in order to create an original endeavour is given the necessary protection,” Mr Galea said.
He explained that there are three main items in the proposed bill: the right of the author, the right of trademarks and the right of patents. Considerable emphasis is placed on research and the rights of researchers to protect their work. Mr Galea said potential researchers must be encouraged. Research is a good tool and is sufficiently powerful to attract foreign investment as well as generate employment.
The minister also spoke about international and EU initiatives protecting intellectual property. There are EU directives to protect against the violation of intellectual property rights in all member states. He also mentioned an agreement that protects these rights and is enforced among World Trade Organisation members, and other international conventions also protecting these rights.
There must be a just way of enforcing the law regarding intellectual property rights. For that reason, the creator of a product must prove the enterprise is his own work, said Mr Galea. Corrective measures must also make sense to stop criminal offences from recurring, he added. Malta must be in line with European and international obligations, he concluded, adding that the protection of intellectual property rights would in the end result in more employment opportunities and more economic activity in the country.
Chris Agius, Labour spokes-man for industry and public investment, agreed with the proposed bill, saying that it is a useful tool to combat crimes against the right to intellectual property.
Innovation and research are important, said the Labour MP, giving the example of continuous research leading to the creation of new products within the pharmaceutical industry. Throughout the EU, research and innovation have led to employment, wealth and a better quality of life, he said, and the union has committed itself to reaching targets through the Lisbon Strategy. According to studies, Scandi-navian countries have come out on top, having spent the most money on research and development. This had resulted in a better quality of life.
Copyright protection is the author’s right, said Mr Agius. Piracy is therefore a major problem, the most common types being the illegal copying of CDs, DVDs, videos and computer software. Unfortunately, he said, this is common practice in Malta and is damaging to both the industry as well as the author.
The Labour MP pointed out that the biggest type of piracy nowadays is downloading music in mp3 format. Copied CDs are also common and many people choose to buy such CDs, even if the quality is inferior to that of the original ones. Copies are also available online via the internet. This is unfair, he said, because the author will have spent a lot of money on its creation, and some people will have invested all they have in their product.
Protecting the author’s rights over his own work is essential and must be recognised, Mr Agius concluded, adding that the Labour Party agreed with the proposed bill.
Labour MP Jose Herrera also agreed with the proposed bill. However, he said, one must be careful and act with caution in attempting to do away with piracy. There are no statistics available on the issue.
Eighty per cent of our black economy is based on piracy offences, said Dr Herrera, and there is a high percentage of people in business who violate intellectual property rights. He made the point that the problem cannot be eliminated all at once.
Many people do not even know they are violating intellectual property rights, the Labour MP added, because 75 per cent of merchandise in Malta is not imported but gained through parallel trading – buying goods from gross suppliers rather than directly from the owners themselves. This makes it very difficult to tell whether the product is a copy or not, especially because the copy could be as good as the original, he said.
Parallel trading cannot be abolished, said Dr Herrera, as prices would otherwise shoot up. However, he concluded, before passing the proposed bill as law, it would be wise to regulate parallel trading.
The sitting commenced with the House paying its respects to former Nationalist Party MP Dr Herman Farrugia, who passed away last week.