The British Library response to the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property (IP)
Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library, broadly welcomed yesterday's publication of the Gowers Review on Intellectual Property and the Library looks forward to continuing engagement on this important issue.
The British Library contributed extensively to the Gowers Review and published an IP Manifesto in September 2006 setting out its stance on a number of key issues.
Lynne Brindley said, "Striking the right balance on IP in the digital age is essential to support an innovative knowledge economy.
"Libraries have two roles essential to the IP balance: archiving the national memory and allowing the public and research community to access it.
"We are particularly pleased that the Gowers Review recommends allowing private copying for research and copying for preservation reasons by libraries to cover all forms of content. It has also made positive recommendations around dealing with orphan works. And we look forward to playing a key role in the Strategic Advisory Board for IP policy (SABIP).
"However we would have liked to see more specific recommendations about how researchers can make the most of the opportunities afforded by the digital age."
The British Library's key concerns on IP were listed in a six point manifesto in September. The Library's response to specific recommendations in the Gowers Review is as follows:
1. Digital is not different - Gowers Recommendation 9
The British Library welcomes recommendation 9 of the Gowers Review to allow private copying for research to cover all forms of content.
2. Fair Dealing - Gowers Recommendations 15-17
In a comprehensive report, we note that there are very few specific recommendations about how fair dealing exceptions should be carried forward in the digital age. We are delighted that the Gowers Review recommends a simplified complaints procedure in regard to DRMs, but we are however concerned that the issue of contracts undermining copyright law has not been specifically addressed and look forward to engaging further on this issue with Government.
3. 'Right to archive' - Gowers Recommendations 10a & 10b
Unless research libraries are granted the ability to preserve the nation's intellectual and cultural output - regardless of the medium - we risk losing a large proportion of our recorded heritage.
The Gowers Review's digital specific recommendations on extending the rights of research institutions to archive the nation's intellectual output are a welcome step forward. This will future-proof our cultural preservation efforts.
4. Term of copyright - Gowers Recommendation 3
The Gowers Review has clearly performed a thorough analysis of evidence on the costs and benefits of term extension. The British Library holds the nation's sound archive which we have built up over many years through mutual co-operation with the music industry. The British Library gave no view on the precise length of copyright term in our Gowers submission. Rather, we stated that any change to our existing copyright law needs to be based in evidence and this view appears to have been taken on board.
5. Orphan Works - Gowers Recommendations 13, 14a & 14b
The Library welcomes the Review's recommendation that a process be created to facilitate access by private and public interests to so-called Orphan Works. We look forward to studying the report in more detail on dealing with orphan works. As stated in our IP Manifesto, the Library recommends a 'light-touch' system, modelled on the one currently being proposed by the US Copyright Office.
6. Unpublished Works
The Gowers Review makes no reference to 'unpublished works'. The British Library's IP Manifesto recommends the length of copyright term for unpublished works should be retrospectively brought in line with other terms - life plus 70 years. This remains an area that we look forward to discussing in detail with the Strategic Advisory Board for IP Policy (SABIP).
For further information please contact: Ben Sanderson (telephone +44 (0)1937 546126, email: ben.sanderson@bl.uk) or Lawrence Christensen (telephone +44 (0)20 7412 7114, email: lawrence.christensen@bl.uk) at the British Library Press Office.
Out of Hours: +44 (0)20 7412 7150
Notes for Editors
1. Glossary of terms:
The four main types of Intellectual Property (IP) are :
patents
trademarks
designs
copyrights
Copyright is a set of rights which creators have in regard to works such as books, designs, films and sound recordings created by them.
Digital Rights Management (DRMs) and TPMs (Technical Protection Measures) are technological tools used to regulate access to and usage of digital data.
Fair Dealing The right to make a copy from an in-copyright work without permission from the rights holder for non-commercial research, private study, criticism, review and news reporting. For example most copying by students at university for academic purposes is done under the fair dealing provision in UK law.
Library Privilege refers to a number of provisions within UK copyright law relating to libraries. It is most commonly used to refer to the role of libraries whereby they are able to make and supply a fair dealing copy to a user upon request.
Orphan Works Creative works where it is not possible to track down the rights holder because they are not known or they cannot be traced.
2. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk