Workbook on Digital Private Papers > Legal issues > Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual Property Rights
Reviewing copyright law in the digital age
UK
Gowers Review of Intellectual Property
As part of the Pre-Budget Report 2005, the Chancellor of the Exchequer appointed Andrew Gowers to lead an independent review to examine the UK's intellectual property framework. The review, delivered in December 2006, includes recommendations that would benefit archival institutions if implemented. These are:
- Recommendation 9: Allow private copying for research to cover all forms of content. This relates to the copying, not the distribution, of media.
- Recommendation 10a: Amend s.42 of the CDPA by 2008 to permit libraries to copy the master copy of all classes of work in permanent collection for archival purposes and to allow further copies to be made from the archived copy to mitigate against subsequent wear and tear.
- Recommendation 10b: Enable libraries to format shift archival copies by 2008 to ensure records do not become obsolete.
- Recommendation 13: Propose a provision for orphan works to the European Commission, amending Directive 2001/29/EC.
- Recommendation 14a: The Patent Office should issue clear guidance on the parameters of a 'reasonable search' for orphan works, in consultation with rights holders, collecting societies, rights owners and archives, when an orphan works exception comes into being.
- Recommendation 14b: The Patent Office should establish a voluntary register of copyright; either on its own, or through partnerships with database holders, by 2008.
- Recommendation 15: Make it easier for users to file notice of complaints procedures relating to Digital Rights Management tools by providing an accessible web interface on the Patent Office website by 2008.
US
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
The DMCA became law in the US in 1998. It implements two 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties: the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The legislation makes it an offence to circumvent copyright protection mechanisms and increases penalties for infringement of copyright on the Internet.
The Section 108 Study Group
The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of copyright experts convened by the Library of Congress, which has been charged with updating for the digital world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the needs of libraries and archives.
