Sweeping reforms for UK intellectual property laws

The recent changes in the law have meant that may be copy right laws are finally growing up in the UK. I don’t often quote Vince Cable but he did seem to hit the nail on the head the other day when he said that “Opening up intellectual property laws can deliver real value to the UK economy as well as the creators and consumers,” “We can’t carry on saying that businesses should embrace technology but then not allow consumers to use everyday technology to play works they’ve paid for.”

The government has announced that it plans a radical overhaul of several important intellectual property laws ministers said that the system needed serious updating if it was going to reflect the changes in the real world that have happened over the last generation.

Amongst the changes will be:

• That the UK should have a Digital Copyright Exchange; a digital market place where licences in copyright content can be readily bought and sold. This could add up as much as £2 billion a year to the UK economy by 2020. The Government will announce arrangements for how this work will be driven forward later in the year.
• Copyright exceptions covering limited private copying should be introduced to realise growth opportunities. Thousands of people copy legitimately purchased content, such as a CD to a computer or portable device such as an IPod, assuming it is legal. This move will bring copyright law into line with the real world, and with consumers’ reasonable expectations.
• Copyright exceptions to allow parody should also be introduced to benefit UK production companies and make it legal for performing artists, such as comedians, to parody someone else’s work without seeking permission from the copyright holder. It would enable UK production companies to create programmes that could play to their creative strengths, and create a range of content for broadcasters.

The government believes that by updating the current laws it will aid growth and adding billions to the UK economy. And right now, the government needs all the help it can get to stimulate the economy.