Legal Updates

Intellectual Property – Copyright Certification Legislation – Educational Recording Agency – to take effect April 2007

Under the Copyright (Certification of Licensing Scheme for Educational Recording of Broadcasts) (Educational Recording Agency Limited) Order 2007 (‘SI’), Educational Recording Agency Limited will have the right to run a licensing scheme for the granting of licences to educational establishments for the recording by them of broadcasts, other than television programmes broadcast on behalf of the Open University which are the subject of a separate licensing scheme (SI 2003/187)

See SI 2007 No. 266. This SI will come into effect in April 2007.  This SI was made in accordance with section 35 of, and paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“the Act”).  See below. Under section 35 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, recordings of broadcasts may be made by or on behalf of educational establishments without thereby infringing copyright. Similar provision is made by paragraph 6 of Schedule 2 to that Act in relation to performances. These provisions do not, however, apply if and to the extent that there is a certified licensing scheme providing for the grant of licences.

‘…Section 35 Recording by educational establishments of broadcasts ...(1)     A recording of a broadcast . . ., or a copy of such a recording, may be made by or on behalf of an educational establishment for the educational purposes of that establishment without thereby infringing the copyright in the broadcast . . ., or in any work included in it, provided that it is accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgement of the broadcast and that the educational purposes are non-commercial].(1A)     Copyright is not infringed where a recording of a broadcast or a copy of such a recording, whose making was by virtue of subsection (1) not an infringement of copyright, is communicated to the public by a person situated within the premises of an educational establishment provided that the communication cannot be received by any person situated outside the premises of that establishment. 2)     This section does not apply if or to the extent that there is a licensing scheme certified for the purposes of this section under section 143 providing for the grant of licences.(3)     Where a copy which would otherwise be an infringing copy is made in accordance with this section but is subsequently dealt with, it shall be treated as an infringing copy for the purposes of that dealing, and if that dealing infringes copyright for all subsequent purposes. For this purpose “dealt with” means sold or let for hire, offered or exposed for sale or hire, or communicated from within the premises of an educational establishment to any person situated outside those premises…’

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 © RT COOPERS, 2007. This Briefing Note does not provide a comprehensive or complete statement of the law relating to the issues discussed nor does it constitute legal advice. It is intended only to highlight general issues. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to particular circumstances.