Public Lending Right Scheme Launches Third Phase with Increased Compensation Fund

The trial program for "Public Lending Right," promoted by the Ministry of Culture, reached a major milestone recently with the official launch of the third phase of compensation disbursements today. According to official statistics, the total payout for this phase exceeded NT$21 million, directly benefiting approximately 5,000 outstanding authors and 300 publishing houses. Since its inception, this policy has aimed to implement fair compensation for creators' intellectual property rights. Through an institutionalized compensation mechanism, it injects a shot in the arm into the domestic publishing industry chain, demonstrating the government's determination to foster the cultural content industry.

The concept of the Public Lending Right originates from countries with relatively well-established cultural welfare systems, such as those in Northern Europe. Its core spirit lies in the fact that while libraries allow readers to borrow books for free through procurement, the high volume of loans within public libraries actually compresses the space for authors and publishers to profit through market sales. To balance public interest and creators' rights, the government established a compensation mechanism, allocating a certain proportion of compensation based on the number of times books are borrowed from public libraries to be fed back directly to authors and publishers. This is not only substantial recognition of creators' hard work, but also an important policy tool to strike a balance between library utilization and copyright interests.

Reviewing the journey of promoting the Public Lending Right in Taiwan, the Ministry of Culture underwent long-term policy research and development, library system integration, and communication and coordination with the publishing sector. After pioneering trials at the National Taichung Library (now the National Public Information Library) and the National Central Library, Taiwan gradually expanded the system to the public library network, continuously refining statistical techniques and profit-sharing mechanisms. From the initial exploratory stage to the current third phase, the number of beneficiaries and the amount of funding have grown steadily year by year, proving that this policy is not only feasible, but also plays a key regulatory and supportive role in Taiwan's reading ecosystem, allowing the knowledge dissemination function of libraries and the economic rights of creators to complement each other.

For the vast community of domestic creators and publishing peers, while this compensation may not completely replace the sales revenue of commercial bestsellers, its symbolic significance and practical benefits should not be underestimated. Against the backdrop of the physical book market being impacted by digital reading and publishing profits constantly being squeezed, the Public Lending Right provides a stable source of income. Especially for professional writers, scholars, and independent publishers whose works may not top sales charts but maintain steady borrowing rates in libraries, these funds undoubtedly provide timely assistance. They help alleviate creative pressures and enable creators to invest more energy into producing high-quality works.

Looking ahead, if the Public Lending Right program is to further deepen its impact on the overall cultural industry, it will still rely on more comprehensive integration between central and local library systems, as well as the public's heightened awareness of supporting genuine and local creations. With the smooth disbursement of the third-phase compensation, the Ministry of Culture has not only supported 5,000 creators and hundreds of publishing houses, but also established a virtuous value cycle of "user pays and creator dignity" among the general public. It is hoped that this policy will receive more abundant resource injections in the future, continue to expand its scale, and become a solid backing to safeguard Taiwan's cultural foundation and publishing momentum. (Source: Central News Agency)