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Help ORG Reform Copyright In The UK!

Would personal copying of media you own, copying work for study, library copying, or legal protection for parody and pastiche help you? Or do you know of any examples of social or economic “harm” that such rights would prevent? If so please comment on ORG’s reprint of this givernment review:

consultation test » Blog Archive » Taking forward Gowers: Copyright Exceptions

This consultation is intended to bring greater flexibility to the UK copyright regime by strengthening existing and introducing some entirely new exceptions.

The point of copyright law is to engineer a market in creative expressions and in doing so the law tries to balance the competing interests of creators, publishers and the general public. In this mechanism, exceptions to monopoly rights protect a range of socially-important activities, such as education or reportage. They operate as a kind of safety valve.

We have not reproduced the entire consultation document because its 106 pages long. Instead, extracted below is the more-manageable Executive Summary, which outlines the consultation's concerns. The Open Rights Group submission will concentrate on the ‘format shifting' and ‘parody' exceptions but you're invited to leave comments on any aspect of the consultation.