UKIPO: New Measures That Will Modernise the Intellectual Property Framework Will Come into Force on 1 October 2014

New measures that will modernise the intellectual property (IP) framework will come into force on 1 October 2014, modernising copyright law and helping designers and patent holders protect their valuable IP.

The government’s package of reforms to copyright exceptions will contribute £500 million to the UK economy over the next 10 years.

This includes changes which will allow people greater freedom to enjoy content they have bought and from 1 October 2014 allow them to make personal copies strictly for their own private use. Prior to this change, it was illegal to copy music from a CD to an MP3 player.

A new exception to copyright for parody caricature, pastiche and improvements to rules on how you can use quotations are also being implemented. This will allow the limited use of copyright material without the permission of the copyright holder, but only to the extent that the use is fair and proportionate.

The aim of these reforms is to support the reasonable use of creative content, without undermining copyright’s important role in supporting the creative industries.

Minister for Intellectual Property, Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG, said:

These changes are going to bring our IP laws into the 21st century. They will mean that the UK IP regime will now be responsive to the modern business environment and more flexible for consumers.

Not only will these new measures provide a significant boost to the UK’s creative industries, they will also better protect a number of sectors including the protection of the UK’s design industry, worth more than £15 billion to the economy.

Other key intellectual property reforms that will come into force on 1 October 2014 include:

the Intellectual Property Act 2014. The act will help simplify and strengthen protection for the UK designs industry, worth more than £15 billion to the UK economy, and help improve the efficiency of the IP rights system

the creation of a criminal offence for intentional copying of a registered design

providing new protections for pre-publication research to ensure the UK’s universities and the research sector remains a world-leader

webmarking to display your patent rights, allowing a company to put a web address rather than more detailed information about the patent status of a product

the expansion of the patent opinions service, providing quick and affordable opinions on a wider range of patent disputes

the promotion of international ‘patent work sharing’ to cut backlogs.

Separately, the government has also introduced a Legislative Reform Order that will provide support for the life sciences sector by allowing the use of patented products when carrying out product or technology assessments.

(Soure: UKIPO News)