New round of ministerial meetings on digital copyright enforcement partially opened-up

Update: read a report from the meeting here.

Open Digital has been invited to attend a new round of ministerial meetings on digital copyright enforcement, hosted by Ed Vaizey at the Department for Media, Culture and Sport.

This time the attendee list will be wider, bringing representatives from across the industry.  The first meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday, 7th December, and will feature representatives from:

• Featured Artists Coalition
• Google
• EMI Music UK & Ireland
• BPI (British Phonographic Industries)
• Publisher's Association
• Warner Music
• Music Publisher's Association
• Yahoo!
• Ofcom
• UKIE (UK Interactive Entertainment)
• ISPA (Internet Service Providers Association)
• PRS (Performing Rights Society)
• Talk Talk
• Open Digital Policy Organisation
• Open Rights Group
• Universal Music
• Beggars Group
• UK Music
• Premier League
• BSkyB
• MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)
• Virgin Media
• Sony Music
• IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau)
• Consumer Focus
• Officials from the DCMS

We welcome the Minister taking the significant step of widening the invite list for meetings previously held behind closed doors.

Whilst we appreciate there is still some way to go to bring this discussion fully into the public arena - where it ultimately needs to be - both the Open Rights Group and Open Digital made it clear that our attendance was on condition that:

"discussions can be open and on the record" and we "would not want to find that elements of the discussion or papers at the meeting were deemed to be confidential."

A member of Ed Vaizey's office replied:

"Thanks for your emails - I completely understand.
 We look forward to seeing you on the 7th." 

We are therefore in a position to openly report on the meeting, bringing some scrutiny to a closed process.

If the scope of such meetings enters the territory of new legislation we will be the first people to suggest that such meetings be open to full public scrutiny in the form of a parliamentary [draft bill] committee and a public consultation.  Public policy should not be forged in private.