People have come to see copyright as a tool of punishment, Europe’s technology chief has said in her strongest-yet attack on the current copyright system.

Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes said on Saturday that the creative industries had to embrace rather than resist new technological ways of distributing artistic works. She added that the existing copyright system was not rewarding the vast majority of artists.

“Is the current copyright system the right and only tool to achieve our objectives? Not really,” Kroes said in a speech to the Forum D’Avignon thinktank. “Citizens increasingly hear the word copyright and hate what is behind it.”

>>> The headline isn’t news (and is wrong to the extent that IP rights holders, that specially vulnerable group is making money in a recession, just not as much as their greed might require) but it seems to be breaking into the higher echelons of some jurisdictions.

Sad comments from the Register of Copyrights to the effect that without SOPA copyright cannot work. Well if SOPA is the price, who wants it to work?