Intellectual Property Law

UK gov launches copyright exemptions consultation

In a widely reported development, the UK government, through the UK Intellectual Property Office, has launched a consultation on reforming the exemptions given under the Copyright Designs & Patent Act 1988.

If you want a translation of the above from IP-legalese into English, look no further than the introduction to the consultation by Lord Triesman. Triesman says:

"In December 2006, Andrew Gowers reported his findings on the UK?s Intellectual Property regime. While he concluded that the system was broadly satisfactory he identified a number of areas where improvements could be made. These included modifying copyright rules to improve access to, and use of, copyright material for private individuals, students and libraries. This consultation looks carefully at how those adjustments might be made."

For most people, the most relevant question being consulted on is: should we have a right to take personal copies of CDs? This is the issue that the media has caught on to when reporting this story: see the BBC and the Registry. As we've noted on the blog a number of times (including in our piece on the recent legal action by the RIAA in the USA), there is no right to take a personal copy of copyright works, although this is something that a lot of people do as a matter of course.

The IPKat has helpfully listed the 66 questions asked, so if you're interested in responding, the 'Kat's post is a good place to start.

Links to the consultation

Copyright exemptions consultation document - PDF

Copyright exemptions consultation document - Word

Full post as published by IMPACT on January 09, 2008 (boomark / email).