The value of creativity

The way we consume newspapers has evolved a lot in recent years. Few people go to their nearest shop every Sunday to buy a newspaper. The boom in digital news consumption is marked by the wide range of news on offer, social networks and, in many cases, by the fact that it is free of charge. However, what never changes is the importance of being informed and the recognition we give to those who inform us.

Roberto Monge, Chief Operations Officer at Telecoming, says: “I believe that it is not possible to monetise quality content without recognising the author of that content. Readers are willing to pay for quality, truthful, curated and exclusive content. However, you must first defend intellectual property rights and then charge for it. This is a necessary step to fight plagiarism on the internet and to popularise monetisation”. In this context and with the aim of helping publishers to monetize their creations, Dpay was born in 2019 (find out more at https://www.d-pay.eu).

Going more deeply into our idea of authorship, today we have the collaboration of Salvador Esteban, head of CEDRO’s legal department. CEDRO gives us a clear and direct vision of the real value of the press and how users, and the industry itself, can maintain it.

We live in strange, different and unexpected times. This year we have learned to use our computer as a tool to observe the outside world.

We “buy the press less and less”, but we don’t stop using it. We cannot live without knowing what is going on around us. We need to be informed, and we need to understand. Now more than ever, we could not resist without information. The press is the vantage point from which we look at the outside world and which allows us to understand it.

Press acknowledgement

The Internet gives us quick access to news, knowledge and analysis of what is happening globally, which is now increasingly external and separate. We have so many sources of information that the press is often not given the value it deserves. We admit to paying for the physical, for the paper, but we may be tempted by the appeal of “free everything” for the goods that run along the information highways. It is very easy to make this mistake.

Although we no longer go down to the newsstand, the newspaper article, the regular publication, is still a creation that must be recognised as a real work of art by those who use or enjoy it. This recognition allows us to be aware of the value of creation.

In itself and as creation, the press article is a work of intelligence and the object of protection by the rules governing Intellectual Property. In short, it is legitimate for the author of the work to obtain the returns he deserves. This will allow him to continue to create and develop quality works.

Of course, in the business and institutional world, the press’s intellectual property rights must also be respected. It is usual for companies and institutions to provide press summaries to their staff in order to make decisions based on truthful, responsible and independent information. This use of other people’s works requires the owners’ authorisation, as provided in the Intellectual Property Law. In this way, permission can be requested from each of the publishers or CEDRO, thus ensuring its compliance with regulations.

Intellectual Property and quality journalism

To recognise Intellectual Property is to guarantee respect for the value of the work. And it is precisely through this respect that the possibility of continuing creative work is guaranteed. The conclusion is easy to state. Knowledge of and respect for the Intellectual Property of journalistic work allow us to continue to enjoy a quality press by giving creators the possibility to devote themselves to their “trade”: to create. And this issue is particularly important at a time when “virtual journalism” reigns supreme.

Internet content is not free. It is necessary to know who the work owner is to remunerate him/her appropriately. Intellectual Property rules easily resolve the question: the author is the owner of the work by the mere fact of its creation. In the case of the companies that publish and put periodicals into circulation, they are the owners of the economic rights, as recognised by the legislation on this matter: Spanish and European legislation, of course.

Once ownership has been attributed, it is easy to value – “monetise” – the content. Thanks to the work of professionals who carry out this monetisation and, with the knowledge of Intellectual Property rules and their respectful application, the objective of guaranteeing creative work will be achieved. This will enable us to continue to have the information and analysis of the facts that we need.

From Telecoming, we thank Salvador Esteban Esteban for these statements, and we hope to count on his collaboration in the future.