From the Beeb:
UK copyright laws to be reviewed, announces Cameron
Britain’s intellectual property laws are to be reviewed to “make them fit for the internet age,” Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.He said the law could be relaxed to allow greater use of copyright material without the owner’s permission.
The announcement was welcomed by internet campaigners who say it will boost small business.
But any changes could be resisted by the music and film industries who have campaigned against copyright reform.
Speaking at an event in the East End of London, at which he announced a series of investments by IT giants including Facebook and Google, Mr Cameron said the founders of Google had told the government they could not have started their company in Britain.
‘Fair use’
He said: “The service they provide depends on taking a snapshot of all the content on the internet at any one time and they feel our copyright system is not as friendly to this sort of innovation as it is in the United States.
“Over there, they have what are called ‘fair-use’ provisions, which some people believe gives companies more breathing space to create new products and services.
“So I can announce today that we are reviewing our IP laws, to see if we can make them fit for the internet age. I want to encourage the sort of creative innovation that exists in America.”
There may well be Europe wide reforms, too.
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/intellectual-property/2010/11/05/europe-to-get-copyright-overhaul-40090768/
Reply
This is code for “Our Digital Economy Act may have over-anticipated the need for harmonisation with legislation that we expected would be required by the ‘Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement’, so we may wind it back a tad. We’ll make UK copyright no more draconian than the US (DMCA, etc.), with similar defences of ‘fair use’ available to those who can afford to take things to court.”
Meanwhile, everyone else is wetting their knickers thinking the PM is going to do something like exempt non-commercial infringement – whatever that is.
Making copyright fit for the information age is to abolish it.
Reply