The Government’s proposals are designed to support the legitimate use of copyright works, while making sure creators are protected and properly remunerated… (Read the full article on the BIS Blog)

If you read yesterday’s Daily Mail, you will have been misinformed about the plans. Changes to the law around copyright protection will not affect the furniture industry as suggested. So what are we doing?

Some of the furniture industry believes that back-dating the requirement would leave business owners sitting with thousands of pounds of un-sellable stock, as items of furniture which have been available for decades suddenly become illegal overnight. Some people have also said that furniture makers who spent money on expensive tools to replicate specific designs will see their investments wasted.

However, items will not become “illegal overnight” since the changes will not apply to existing stock in the country, only to newly manufactured, or newly imported, items of furniture. And the changes to copyright protection would not apply to all furniture, only to those furniture items which were sufficiently artistic to attract copyright protection. Transition provisions should provide sufficient opportunity for the industry to adapt.

You can read about the changes, what is being proposed, and more in this factsheet. Our next Blog post will look at the proposals for extended collective licensing as part of the Bill.

In our second post on copyright reform, we are looking in greater detail at the specific changes in the Enterprise Bill to enable the use of orphan works.

We thought we would directly address some of the points that have been raised in the media and on our blogs about the need for an orphan works scheme and our proposals for how it will work in practice. We’ll try to respond to as many of the comments from our previous blog post.

Read more on the BIS Blog

You can read an overview of the changes to copyright in the Bill here.

A recent addition to the Bill on copyright introduced a scheme that would allow the licensing of genuine ‘orphan works’. It would also create the power to authorise ‘voluntary extended collective licensing’; this a form of licensing that allows a collecting society (that meets certain criteria) to license all works in its sector, except those that have been opted out by the rights holders.

This announcement generated comment in the media and online, such as this article in The Register that unfortunately had a number of inaccuracies about how both schemes would operate. In the next series of blogs for the Bill we thought this would be a good opportunity to clarify the proposals and address any of these misunderstandings.

Today we’ll look at orphan works reform, what the scheme entails and the benefits that come with it. Tomorrow we’ll go into the details around the proposals and the misperceptions on what has been proposed – and the final blog will look at the Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) programme.

First of all, what is an Orphan Work?

An orphan work is a work protected by copyright, for example a photograph or piece of folk music where the rights holder is not known or can’t be found. There are many interesting orphan works, particularly in cultural institutions that at present cannot be displayed to the public or reproduced because the copyright owner cannot be found to ask their permission. For example, the Imperial War Museum has an estimated 2.2 million photographs where the rights holder has not been traced. This is a restriction on both cultural and economic growth. For example writers and publishers cannot use certain unique photographs to illustrate books on major world events. Similarly television producers cannot use unique archive film in documentaries. As well as enhancing cultural knowledge, the sale of such books, films and television programmes can contribute to economic growth.

The Bill is proposing the creation of a licensing organisation to allow use of orphan works for commercial and non-commercial purposes. But the proposals contain a number of key safeguards to protect the rights of the copyright owner, including the need for an extensive search for the rights holder, verified by an independent licensing body.

It is also proposed that compensation appropriate to the type of work and type of use is set aside if they do reappear. In addition, when the name of the rights holder is known (but they cannot be located) they must be credited whenever the work is used. If the name is not known there will need to be a notice, explaining how rights holders can contact the
authorising body to regain control of their work and to claim the remuneration set aside for them. It will also be assumed that the author has asserted their moral rights; that is to say that their moral rights must be respected and have not been waived. This means the rights holder has a right of attribution and right to object to derogatory treatment.

The article in “The Register” has a number of inaccuracies about what this change to the use of orphan works will mean in practice – we’ll address these points in full in our next post.

If you have any thoughts, or would like to ask any questions, please post a comment and we’ll try and answer as many as possible.

Last week saw the final debate in the Committee stage of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill as it progresses through the House of Commons. Over the last month, MPs on the Bill Committee have debated the contents of the Bill, clause by clause, proposing changes to the text – you can watch and read the debates on the Parliament website.

The next stage of the Bill will be the Report Stage (expected to begin in the Autumn when the House is back after recess) followed by a third reading, both in the House of Commons. The Bill will then move to the House of Lords for scrutiny.

You can follow the latest announcements from BIS around the Bill on our ‘latest news’ section – most recently Lord Currie was announced as the ‘Chair Designate’ of the proposed new Competition and Markets Authority, which aims to bring together the Competition Commission (CC) and the competition functions of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). He will officially take up the role after the new organisation is created.

Between now and the Bill’s House of Commons Report stage, we will be looking at a different area of the Bill in our Blogs section. This will help to explain some of the complex policy areas of the Bill, and provide the opportunity for you to ask questions about what is being proposed. This week we will begin by focusing on copyright reform.

If you have specific questions about the Bill, or have suggestions or topics you would like us to discuss, please leave your comments on the site in the comments section in the right-hand side.

Lord Currie will take up his four year appointment during the summer.

The Chair’s appointment will be subject to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill receiving Royal Assent, and to scrutiny by the Business Innovation and Skills Select Committee.

The second reading of the ERR Bill is due today. In his opening speech, Business Secretary Vince Cable will announce the  government’s plans for greater business flexibility and quicker resolution for workplace disputes.

More efficient workplace dispute resolution

The measures aim to boost business confidence and ease the handling of workplace disputes through facilitating the use of settlement agreements between employers and employees.

Employers will be able to offer settlement agreements before a formal dispute arises and will be legally protected from this offer being used as evidence in an unfair dismissal tribunal case. Employees will also continue to enjoy full protection of their employment rights, as they can choose to reject the offer of a settlement agreement and proceed to a tribunal. Evidence from the private sector shows that a sensible compromise can be reached in the majority of cases.

• Read the full Press release: new plans for more efficient workplace dispute resolution

Measures include:

• Improving the employment tribunal system;
• Setting up the new Competition and Markets Authority;
• Setting the purpose of the UK Green Investment Bank; and
• Giving shareholder binding votes on directors’ pay.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable  presented the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to Parliament Wednesday 23 May. The Bill is a central element in the Government’s aim for strong, sustainable and balanced growth, powered by investment, exports, technology and enterprise.

Government has already taken action on issues including tax, regulation and planning to support British businesses and promote economic growth, but Ministers are determined to do more.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“Growing our economy out of a period of acute crisis is the most pressing issue for this Government.

“We want to make sure the right conditions are in place to encourage investment and exports, boost enterprise, support green growth and build a responsible business culture.