Are proposals to create exceptions to copyright answering problems or creating them?

Ever since the publication of the Hargreaves Review, NLA media access and other agencies representing publishers in the creative sector have been responding to UK Government consultations on various aspects of copyright law. Despite no obvious benefits to the wider economy – and potential damage to revenues in the creative sector – a series of ‘exceptions’ to copyright are being proposed, ranging from Quotation and Parody to Data Access (FKA Text and Data Mining).

Most of the proposed exceptions seem to be seeking answers to non-existent problems. The NLA media access view is that licensing use of content is the best solution for both consumers and creators of content, as licences can be tailored precisely to the user (business, academic, personal) and priced accordingly, whereas exceptions to copyright are likely to be ‘blunt instruments’ that lead to loss of reward for creators – and potentially an ultimate loss of access for businesses that could use or re-use content: the very opposite of what the government intends. 

All of this is expressed very eloquently by Richard Mollett, the CEO of the Publishers Association in a blog for The Bookseller. Leaving aside his use of a slightly dodgy quotation from George Michael, Richard makes the point that “those politicians who agree with both the premises and conclusions of the Hargreaves Review could comfortably fit into a London phone box”, but goes on to suggest that “there are encouraging signs that the government is listening” to a sector that delivers 9% of GDP. That is good news, if true. 

Beyond the technical aspects of the legislation, what it really boils down to is a choice for the Government.  Either support UK creative industries with fair remuneration for their content; or risk losing jobs and wealth to the many cross-border technology companies who would exploit this content to their own benefit if copyright rules are relaxed. 

David Pugh

Managing Director, NLA media access

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