Dear stakeholder,
We're writing to let you know about a Government policy statement on modernising copyright published today, Monday 02 July 2012.
The document sets out Government policy on modernising copyright licensing in light of the recent copyright consultation. The Government intends to legislate through the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill currently before Parliament to:
- allow schemes to be introduced for the commercial and non-commercial use of 'orphan' copyright works and voluntary extended collective licensing of copyright works, subject to a number of important safeguards, and
- to create a backstop power to require collecting societies to adopt codes of conduct based on minimum standards.
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill currently going through Parliament, provides such an opportunity and the Government plans to lay amendments to introduce these measures in the Committee Stage of the Bill. Once the necessary legislation is in place, there will be further consideration of the details of all these measures, generally through consultation, before the final schemes are laid before Parliament for approval.
Policy decisions on other issues covered by the consultation - including the Government's plans to modernise copyright through changes to the UK's copyright exceptions and the proposed copyright notices scheme - will be set out in a subsequent document later this year. Announcements on other work undertaken in response to the Hargreaves Review will be made separately.
On a separate issue not covered by the policy statement, the Government will take a power in the Bill to implement into UK law EU Directive 2011/77/EU on the term of protection for sound recordings, which was agreed in Brussels in late 2011.
The policy statement document is accessible on the Intellectual Property Office website:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/hargreaves.htm
Copyright Consultation Team
Intellectual Property Office