Partner Article

Changes to copyright laws due to come into effect

Copyright laws are hugely important to a great many companies in the UK. It will no doubt be with interest therefore that businesses await upcoming changes to these regulations.

In a statement, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) noted it is updating UK copyright law for the digital age. On March 27th, the government published the final Exceptions to Copyright regulations for consideration by Parliament. If the alterations are sanctioned by both Houses of Parliament, they will come into force on June 1st.

Small but important reforms

The IPO, which is responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK, including designs, trademarks, patents and copyright, said changes are needed to bring British laws up to date for the digital age.

It remarked: “The changes make small but important reforms to UK copyright law and aim to end the current situation where minor and reasonable acts of copying which benefit consumers, society and the economy are unlawful. They also remove a range of unnecessary rules and regulations from the statute book in line with the government’s aim to reduce regulation.”

According to the IPO, the government has consulted “extensively” on the draft legislation and it has listened to a wide range of stakeholders. Because of this, the proposed legislation “strikes an important balance between enabling reasonable use of copyright material in the modern age with minimal impact on copyright owners”, it added.

To boost understanding, a series of eight guides have been launched covering what the changes will mean for different sectors. The guides are intended for groups including researchers, librarians, teachers, artists, photographers, rights-holding groups and consumers.

What they mean

Under the planned changes, the practice of ‘ripping’ content from DVDs and CDs will be made legal. However, people must own what they are copying and the copies they make can only be for their own private use.

The alterations will also make it legal for people to copy a book or film they have purchased for one device onto another.

However, consumers should note that it will still be against the law to make copies for friends and family, or to make copies without owning the original versions (unless the permission of the copyright owner is obtained). It will also remain illegal to copy from rented DVDs and CDs, on-demand streaming services and broadcasts.

Warning

Meanwhile, the IPO warned that some media, such as DVDs, are often protected by anti-copying technology to guard against piracy, and this is protected by law. Copyright owners will still be able to use this protection.

However, if consumers believe that copy protection is too restrictive, they can raise a complaint with the Secretary of State.

Help is at hand

Knowing exactly what’s what when it comes to copyright laws is not easy, so it is no surprise that some firms are turning to document templates to help ensure they are able to effectively manage and protect their copyright. For example, they can access copyright licence agreements, copyright assignments agreements, copyright protection documents and more.

Anna Longdin writes regularly about UK law. She visits sites including Simply-Docs to help ensure she always stays up to date with the latest industry news and developments.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ben Cody .