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A “Review of Intellectual Property and Growth” by Cardiff University Professor Ian Hargreaves, commissioned by UK Prime Minster Cameron in November  2010, finds that “copyright law has started to act as a regulatory barrier to the creation of certain kinds of new, innovative businesses.”  The laws were largely crafted before the emergence of digital technologies, which have driven large amounts of investment and growth in the economy over the last two decades, but which are most susceptible to the negative effects of inflexible IP laws.  A system that incentivizes licensing and lowers transactions costs  would improve the framework.

Additionally, UK law does not take advantage of limitations and exceptions needed for noncommercial copyright of works by consumers, librarians, and researchers for that do not undermine the “underlying aims of copyright.”  Consumers often violate copyright without knowing they are doing so when making copies for personal use.  Libraries are unable to archive materials and researchers are unable to “use modern text and data mining techniques.”Hargreaves recommends ten specific policy changes:

1. “government should ensure that development of the IP system is driven by evidence” (not just by lobbying)
2. seek “a unified EU patent court and EU patent system” and ways to make the Patent Cooperation Treaty “a more effective vehicle for international processing of patent applications”
3. to facilitate greater licensing “establish a cross sectoral Digital Copyright Exchange” and a system of incentives and disincentives to drive rights holders and others to take part.  “Support moves by the European Commission to establish a framework for cross border copyright licensing.”
4. “enable licensing of orphan works”
5. take advantage of all limitations and exceptions to copyright allowed in the EU framework, “including format shifting, parody, non-commercial research, and library archiving.  The UK should also promote at EU level an exception to support text and data analytics. The UK should give a lead at EU level to develop a further copyright exception designed to build into the EU framework adaptability to new technologies.”
6. Do not extend patents into new areas like non-technical computer programs or business methods, “without clear evidence of benefit.”  Work with other national patent offices to “establish a patent fee structure” that provides a disincentive to lower value patents
7. “conduct an evidence based assessment of the relationship between design rights and innovation, with a view to establishing a firmer bases for evaluating policy at the UK and European level.”
8. on enforcement, “pursue an integrated approach based upon enforcement, education, and crucially, measures to strengthen and grow legitimate markets in copyright and other IP protected fields.”
9. improve access to legal and commercial IP advice for small to medium enterprises
10. empower the Intellectual Property Office to “issue statutory opinions where these will help clarify copyright law.”

The report has received a lot of attention – below are some other blogs:

• Mike Masnick for Tech Dirt. “UK Copyright Review Hardly Surprising Or Radical; But Will Face Opposition.”
• Michael Geist. University of Ottawa. “UK IP Report Recommends Creating New Copyright Exceptions, Warns Against Over Regulation.”
• James Boyle for The Public Domain. “The Hargreaves Review Published Today.”
• Joe Karaganis, Social Science Research Council. “UK Gov’s IP Report Recommends Cutting Lobbynomists’ Jobs.”