Copyright Exceptions

Intellectual Property – Copyright – UK Intellectual Property Office – Copyright Exceptions

In light of recommendations made in the Hargreaves Review, the UK Intellectual Property Office (“UK IPO”) has been preparing draft legislation that implements various changes to the current copyright legislation.

The agreed changes include a number of new copyright exceptions. The draft legislation to implement these exceptions has been prepared and the UK IPO is accepting written comments.

The closing date for comments upon the first four exceptions has passed. Just to remind you, they  are:

• Private copying – Allows private individuals to copy content that they own and have acquired legally for their own personal use. This would cover the ripping of music CDs or transferring songs to iPods.
• Parody – Allows the minor use of other people’s copyright material for the purposes of parody, caricature or pastiche, without the need to first seek permission.
• Quotation – Allows the use of quotations for reasonable purposes that cause minimal harm to copyright owners, such as academic citation or hyperlinking. Further conditions for this exception to apply are that (i) the work must have been lawfully made available to the public; (ii) the quotation must be accompanied by a sufficient acknowledgment; and (iii) the use of the quotation must fair dealing.
• Public administration – Intended to allow public bodies to share third party information, which are open to public inspection or on an official register, such as letters and emails, online. 

In mid-June, draft legislation for further exceptions was released by the UK IPO for technical review, as set out below:

• Data Analysis for non-commercial research – Intends to amend the legislation so that it is not an infringement of copyright for a person who already has a right to access a copyright work to copy said work as part of a technological process of analysis and synthesis of the content of the work for the sole purpose of non-commercial research. If access to the work is governed by a licence, this will not prevent or restrict the use of the work in accordance with this exception.
• Education – The purpose of this exception is to enable teachers to make reasonable use of copyright materials without infringing copyright, provided the use is minimal, non-commercial, and fair to copyright owners.  An exception will also allow the use of broadcasts to take place on the premises of an educational establishment as well as via secure distance learning networks, provided the copyright material is not transmitted to people that are unaffiliated with the educational establishment.
• Research libraries – The exception relating to research and private study is to be extended to allow fair dealing for any type of copyright work, for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study. This therefore includes sound recordings, films and broadcasts, which were previously omitted.
• Archives for review – Current provisions relating to libraries and archives will be extended to cover all types of copyright works for the purpose of preservation, including to cultural organisations such as museums and galleries. 

The deadline for sending comments in relation to the draft legislation for the above exceptions is 2 August 2013.

Further details about the copyright exceptions can be found on the UK IPO’s website.

For any queries on copyright law or intellectual property law issues, you may contact us by email [email protected]. Visit http://www.rtcoopers.com/practice_intellectualproperty.php.

© RT COOPERS, 2013. 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.