But IPO officials, who have been heard to puzzle about the low rate of responses to their copyright consultation so far, will face the equivalent task of riding a wall of submissions when the consultation closes on Wednesday 21. The PA is one of a myriad bodies contributing a deluge of closely argued, evidence backed responses to the government's 114 questions on the Hargreaves' proposals.
The centre piece of responses will be economic research commissioned into the government's economic impact assessments. Hargreaves himself admitted that his own sums were incomplete. They were indeed, lacking as they did any assessment of the impact on existing creative companies, instead focusing exclusively on a sketchy assessment on the impact on consumers and largely American internet intermediaries. In response to Parliamentary Questions Ministers have now clearly recognised the failings in the consultation and have been at pains to stress that the assessments conducted to date are "initial".
It remains a cause of amazement that a report which self-confessed its shortcomings could nevertheless have the confidence to stride boldly into the territory of radical policy prescription. Odder still that the IPO should sign up to those proposals so enthusiastically. (As an aside, the role of the IPO in "marking its own homework" will be put under the microscope by Parliament's All Party IP Group which has announced an inquiry into the IPO's role in policy formulation.)
As surfers know well, big waves come not as single spies. This Wednesday also sees the Chancellor's Budget Statement. The PA has added our voice to the calls of others for reducing the VAT rate on ebooks to the same zero-rate as enjoyed by print books. Given that the educational, social and cultural benefits of the p book are well recognised, there is a clear justification for reducing the VAT on their e brethren. Such a move is legal - as we believe and so do, apparently, do Luxembourg and France. We also urge government to support the ongoing campaign to amend the VAT Directive to bring legal clarity to the rules on ebooks. Digital services which emulate their physical counterparts should not be subject to anomalous treatment.
For all of its importance this Wednesday is not a decision point day. In the case of both copyright and VAT we are probably looking at a longer wave cycle of debate, discussion and incremental action. In any case, for the economic tide to rise for the British creative and knowledge economy requires more than a couple of supportive nods in our direction. It needs a whole change in the mindset in policy-making circles. Government's support for business needs to be more assertive in enabling commercial success. A blunt pursuit of a hazily defined consumer interest (in other words how can government ensure everything is as cheap as chips) might play well on the campaign doorstep, but it doesn't stand in good stead when poring through the public finance ledger wondering where the growth is going to come from.
The UK's Copyright businesses make this country a better and richer place than it would otherwise be. It would be wonderful if after big Wednesday that fiscal and IP policy reflected this.
