UK Government Pledges Copyright Reform, Reactions From the Library and Publishing Communities

From Ars Technica:

The British government today pledged (PDF) to enact significant changes to copyright law, including orphan works reforms and the introduction of new copyright exceptions. And the tone of the comments was surprising: the government agrees that “copyright currently over-regulates to the detriment of the UK.” CD (and perhaps DVD) ripping for personal use should become legal at last—and the government is even keen to see that the consumer rights granted by law can’t simply be taken away by contract (such as a “EULA” sticker on a CD demanding that a disk not be ripped).

The pledge comes after the release of an independent report was released earlier this year often referred to as the Hargreaves Review.

Direct to Hargreaves Review–Full Text (PDF)

Direct to The Government Response to the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth (PDF):
Released today.

See Also: “Data mining given the go ahead in UK” (via Nature Publishing Blogs)

Reactions

• UPDATE Posted on August 8, 2011:
  CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals)
  “Government responds to Hargreaves Report”

• Research Libraries:
  RLUK Encouraged by UK Government’s Announcement of Sweeping Intellectual Property Reforms

• Higher Ed: JISC welcomes the Hargreaves report

• Strategic Content Alliance: SCA Welcomes the Hargreaves Report

• Publishers:
  The Publishers Association says Hargreaves data mining proposals are an “unwarranted blunt instrument

• From Several UK Organizations (Open Rights, Internet Companies, Creative Coalition Campaign) as well as from Ivan Lewis MP, Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, in opposition of today’s announcement (via The Telegraph)

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Data Files, Libraries, News, Publishing