IPR Newsletter 34
This month (October 2008) we continue to focus on developments in Intellectual Property Rights subsequent to the UK’s Intellectual Property Office publications of the proposed copyright exceptions consultation, which is of specific relevance to JISC and HE/FE, as well as focussing on some project-related developments.
Please send comments or input on issues related to IPR and your work to Naomi@naomikorn.com JISC staff and stakeholders are encouraged to forward the newsletter to interested parties
Progress on the work of JISC IPR Consultants
Over the last couple of months we have been involved in the following work:
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Worked on a response from JISC to the EC’s Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy
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Responded to individual queries from JISC Programme Managers
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Submitted a research and development paper on "
IPR and Streaming Media"
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Completed work on a briefing paper on Creative Commons Licences
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Presented a paper on "
IPR and Projects" at the Institutional Innovation Programme Meeting (24th October 2008)
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Helped plan and ran sessions at the JISC Rights and Repositories Event (5th September 2008)
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Attended a meeting about Orphan works held at the UK’s Intellectual Property Office
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Wrote a short paper on the types of licences which would be suitable for JISC Project projects in compliance with JISC’s IP Policy.
Important items that require attention
Gowers Review of IP Update
We are still awaiting the draft statutory instrument outlining the Government’s proposals for implementing some of the recommendations outlined with the Gowers Review of IP – on this front there has been very little to report since the last IPR Newsletter.
Proposed Extension of Term to Sound Recordings and Performers Rights
In response to the proposals outlined by the EC to extend the duration of term in sound recordings and performers rights, the Open Rights Group has prepared a toolkit for lobbying of MEPs as well as a briefing pack. JISC and the Strategic Content Alliance have already responded to these proposals requesting that the status quo is retained.
In the meantime the Directive is also being discussed by representatives of Member States in the Council of Ministers. The Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property Law) in Munich, has released a statement concluding that prolonging the term of protection "cannot be justified from any point of view".
Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, Director of the Institute for Information Law (IViR) in Amsterdam, and one of the Commission's advisers, has accused Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso of intentionally misleading policy-makers with the proposal in an open letter.
EC Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy
The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has requested that draft submissions from various stakeholders responding to the EC Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy are sent to it first (in October), so that it can use to put together its own response in time for deadline for submissions (30th November 2008). In advance of this, the UK IPO will also be hosting an informal meeting of key UK stakeholders on 6th November to assess the tenor of responses. The IPR Consultants will be represented at this meeting and will report back accordingly.
Orphan Works Developments
The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) met on Monday 29th September with cultural heritage groups, rights holders and consumer interest groups to discuss issues and possible solutions relating to works for which the rights holders cannot be traced or are unknown ("Orphan Works"). In advance of the meeting, a discussion document was circulated with the intention of broadly addressing the types of legislative and non legislative solutions which might be considered.
At the meeting, it was discussed that voluntary licensing schemes (backed by indemnities) dealing with the issue of orphan works which might operate in today’s legislative framework, do so without the authority of the rights holders and so present issues of criminal liability as well as civil remedies, which could result in injunctive relief to stop the use of the works. The role of "due diligence" searches was also discussed within the context of documenting efforts to try and trace rights holders, but such searches were widely regarded as limited within the context of the types of mass digitisation projects in which many cultural heritage organisations are involved.
As a means to address these issues, the UK’s IPO has suggested the possibility of reviewing three different based solutions:
Following the discussion, the UK’s IPO agreed to approach the EC Commission to instigate possible discussions about an EU solution, as well as simultaneously assess the viability of a UK based solution which might be compatible with EU developments. Further discussions led by the UK’s IPO with stakeholders are likely to take place in the near future.
On a separate issue, in the US the Orphan Works Bill, (the so called "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008") which limited the damages due to rights holders if an Orphan Work was used in conjunction with due diligence efforts, has stalled in the House of Representatives due to the financial measures currently being discussed. It is likely that these measures will not be discussed until after the November Presidential Elections.
The IPR Consultants are closely monitoring further developments, which will be announced via this Newsletter, as well as any initial reactions to the draft regulations when they are published.
Launch of Lambert Toolkit
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has launched the Lambert tool-kit which contains updated versions of the five model Research Collaboration Agreements (Lambert 1-5), four new model Consortium Agreements, all with hypertext links to an extensive guidance notes. The aim of the model agreements is to encourage university and industry collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. They are designed to represent a workable and reasonable compromise for both or all parties. The site also includes a range of informative materials, notably an iterative decision guide.
Other News
TASI and Intute Launch Tool to Help find Copyright-Cleared Images
TASI and Intute have just launched a new free online tutorial to help users locate copyright-cleared images on the Internet, for use in learning and teaching materials.
Changes to UK Trademark Law
On 1 October 2008 the Trade Mark Rules 2000 were replaced with the Trade Mark Rules 2008 in order to modernise and consolidate existing trade mark laws and making them more accessible. The most significant change relates to the opposition period when a third party may oppose the registration of a trade mark. The new rules will change the opposition period from a fixed three-month period to two months. This will mean that the 90% of applications which currently proceed without opposition will go through to registration much quicker. Unopposed trade mark applications will be registered one month earlier than what they currently are.
SCA IPR and Licensing Excellence Gateway
The Strategic Content Alliance sponsors will be hosting a peer review event on Monday, 3 November 2008 at 13.00-16.30. The event brings together some of UK’s leading IPR and licensing specialists working in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. It aims to peer review documentation, in the form of an IPR toolkit for public sector bodies which has been produced as part the Strategic Content Alliance’s IPR and licensing work which is being led by Naomi Korn and Professor Charles Oppenheim. The workshop will comment upon the work that has been produced; identify gaps and recommend additional work where necessary.
The workshop will also provide an opportunity for presentations about other aspects of the SCA’s IPR and Licensing work, including:
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Case Studies Mapping the Flow of Value, Content and Rights
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In From the Cold: Survey of Works where Rights Holders are Unknown or Cannot be Traced
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Updates about the Gowers Review of IP and the EC Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy.
This Newsletter has been compiled using a variety of sources, including the following websites and mailing sites: