I wish to comment on Prof Singer’s Article “The ethics of internet piracy” (TMID 16 February). The Ethics of Piracy Prof. Singer’s article expresses perfectly the frustration of all creative artists when exposed to the Free Market. ‘Shall I do it first before they do it to me?’ syndrome.

The American system leaves everything in the hands of Big Brother. I saw Robert Altman crying when talking about the TV series M*A*S*H* which was based on his original Vietnam War field hospital comedy. Like Dr Faustus he had sold his soul to the devil. When you download a film on internet you are not cheating the author but the owner of the movie who would have cheated the author already of almost all if not all of his residual rights. The author would have gladly signed away most of his rights because if and when work comes, especially after a long dry spell, any sum of money will look like an impossible dream.

That is why every creator needs parasites like agents and managers and lawyers and accountants to tell him how to earn and how to spend his/her money.

In Europe we have artists’ unions which are also collecting houses. The artists’ dues are perused by the union and passed on to the artist after a small deduction that goes to maintaining the union’s service and to a social assistance fund.

Last October I visited the Union des Actores in Madrid that has a beautiful palace to work from and has an educational and welfare fund and a retired actors’ home to give its members a lifetime’s protection.

That is why the European Council of Artists, which I represent in Malta, is against ACTA.  The ACTA document leaves room for abuse and could give the right to multi-national publishing or intellectual property owners to get the European police forces and Criminal Courts to collect funds for them made up of intellectual rights dues, which eventually they keep to themselves almost entirely.

No thank you. Let each country or creators’ organisation look after its own members’ interests under the protection of an EU Parliamentary law designed with the help of the creators themselves.

Prof. Singer seems to conclude there is no complete fair way to solve this ethical problem.

■ Narcy Calamatta

Founder/Director

ZARARTI Foundation member

of the European Council of Artists

Copenhagen