Layers of red tape and mounting copyright levies are crippling Europe`s emerging digital media market, a group of technology firms said yesterday.
The snags must be removed if new online music and video download services have a chance to survive, pressure groups representing the software and consumer electronics manufacturers told members of the European Commission at a closed-door meeting on copyright laws in Dublin.
The group recommended the Commission develop a single, EU-wide licence and cap levies that are pushing up the price tag on digital media players, in some cases by an extra 40%, said Francisco Mingorance, public policy director for trade group the Business Software Alliance (BSA).
"How can you build a viable business in this way?" Mingorance said, adding Europe`s existing licensing morass means there are still no pan-European music download services.
The Commission has begun soliciting industry comment on how to cultivate new digital media formats in Europe while not confounding consumers with a host of emerging technologies.
The main issues the technology industry would like to see tackled is the streamlining of a decades-old royalties collection system and developing an industry-recognised standard for digital rights management (DRM) -- necessary for protecting media from digital piracy.
The DRM issue could take years to resolve as many technologies are still being refined. But, industry observers say, the Commission can give the nascent digital media industry a much-needed boost if it can develop a single licence that covers all of the EU.
Currently, an Internet download service aiming to operate across Europe must negotiate with scores of individual licence-holders. In the case of music services, approval from a maze of record labels and collecting societies is required.
As a result, there are 64 online music stores based in Europe, but only a few, including Apple Computer`s iTunes, the soon-to-launch Sony Connect, have managed to obtain the sufficient licences to operate in more than one territory, and none cover more than three countries.
Critics complain the cumbersome process has pushed back the market for music downloads at a time when the industry says Internet piracy is contributing to a plunge in CD sales.
"Simplifying the licence schemes would be a good first step," said Bud Tribble, VP software technology for Apple Computer.
Creating a one-stop for download licences would mean partially dismantling the current royalty collection system, a process that could take some time, observers point out.
Share