Copyright Reform

Vince Cable Excerpts

Thursday 20th December 2012 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

Today the Government are publishing the final part of their response to their copyright consultation: “Modernising Copyright: a modern, robust and flexible framework”.

The response sets out Government decisions on changes to “copyright exceptions”: freedoms in copyright law that allow third parties to use copyright works for a variety of economically and/or socially valuable purposes without permission from copyright owners.

The Government are committed to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is shared across the country and between industries. Following the Hargreaves review of intellectual property and growth, and an extensive consultation process, the Government believe that the copyright framework can be improved to make the UK a better place for consumers and for firms to innovate, in markets which are vital for future growth, without harming the UK’s valuable creative industries.

The Government have considered the responses to the consultation carefully, alongside the views of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee and others. They intend to make changes to widen existing or introduce new exceptions for private copying; parody; education; quotation and news reporting; text and data mining; research and private study; preservation; disabilities; public administration and reporting. These measures take account of what the Government have heard from creative industries about the need to minimise potential adverse impacts of any change.

The Government intend to make these changes via secondary legislation in autumn 2013. Prior to this, the Government will publish the draft regulations for technical review.

The response document will be published on the Business, Innovation and Skills, and Intellectual Property Office websites and a copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.