[Fsfe-uk] Gowers Report Recommendations

[MJ Ray]

At first glance, this *could* be very good, especially the EUCD
changes for 'orphan works' and the fence-sitting on punishment
adjustments, but could also be bad with increased numbers of state
copyright enforcers and increased use of the confused "IP" jargon
(then again, UK Patent Office handles Copyright at the moment, which
is confused anyway).

I forward the list posted to fc-uk-discuss by David Berry for the
purposes of news reporting and commentary.  What does this mean?

David Berry <address@hidden> wrote:
> List of recommendations in the Gower Review
> 
> Instruments
> 
> Balance
> 
> 
> Recommendation 1: Amend section 60(5) of the Patents Act 1977
> to clarify the research exception to facilitate experimentation,
> innovation and education.
> 
> Recommendation 2: Enable educational provisions to cover distance
> learning and interactive whiteboards by 2008 by amending sections
> 35 and 36 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 (CDPA).
> 
> Recommendation 3: The European Commission should retain the length of
> protection on sound recordings and performers’ rights at 50 years.
> 
> Recommendation 4: Policy makers should adopt the principle that the
> term and scope of protection for IP rights should not be altered
> retrospectively.
> 
> Coherence
> 
> 
> Recommendation 5: UKPO should undertake joint working with African
> patent offices from mid-2007, with the aim of: • helping them
> to take advantage of the flexibilities currently existing in the
> WTO/TRIPS architecture where appropriate; and • encouraging
> them to make positive use of IP rights through dissemination of
> information in patents.
> 
> Recommendation 6: Encourage the international community under the
> auspices of the WTO to review the TRIPS status of the least developed
> countries prior to 2016 and consider whether further extension for
> reaching TRIPS compliance would be appropriate.
> 
> Recommendation 7: Government should encourage WTO members to ratify
> the amendments to TRIPS to make importation of drugs easier and
> cheaper.
> 
> Flexibility
> 
> 
> Recommendation 8: Introduce a limited private copying exception by
> 2008 for format shifting for works published after the date that
> the law comes into effect. There should be no accompanying levies
> for consumers.
> 
> Recommendation 9: Allow private copying for research to cover all
> forms of content. This relates to the copying, not the distribution,
> of media.
> 
> Recommendation 10a: Amend s.42 of the CDPA by 2008 to permit
> libraries to copy the master copy of all classes of work in permanent
> collection for archival purposes and to allow further copies to
> be made from the archived copy to mitigate against subsequent wear
> and tear.
> 
> Recommendation 10b: Enable libraries to format shift archival copies
> by 2008 to ensure records do not become obsolete.
> 
> Recommendation 11: Propose that Directive 2001/29/EC be amended to
> allow for an exception for creative, transformative or derivative
> works, within the parameters of the Berne Three Step Test.
> 
> Recommendation 12: Create an exception to copyright for the purpose
> of caricature, parody or pastiche by 2008.
> 
> Recommendation 13: Propose a provision for orphan works to the
> European Commission, amending Directive 2001/29/EC.
> 
> Recommendation 14a: The Patent Office should issue clear guidance
> on the parameters of a ‘reasonable search’ for orphan works,
> in consultation with rights holders, collecting societies, rights
> owners and archives, when an orphan works exception comes into being.
> 
> Recommendation 14b: The Patent Office should establish a voluntary
> register of copyright; either on its own, or through partnerships
> with database holders, by 2008.
> 
> Recommendation 15: Make it easier for users to file notice of
> complaints procedures relating to Digital Rights Management tools by
> providing an accessible web interface on the Patent Office website
> by 2008.
> 
> Recommendation 16: DTI should investigate the possibility of
> providing consumer guidance on DRM systems through a labelling
> convention without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens.
> 
> Recommendation 17: Maintain policy of not extending patent rights
> beyond their present limits within the areas of software, business
> methods and genes.
> 
> Operations
> 
> Award
> 
> 
> Recommendation 18: The Government should encourage the EPO to pursue
> work sharing with the USPTO and JPO.
> 
> Recommendation 19: The Patent Office should pursue work sharing
> arrangements with EPC member States, and trilaterally with the USA
> and Japan to reduce cross-national duplication of effort.
> 
> Recommendation 20: Continue to support and expedite the establishment
> of a single Community Patent through negotiations in Europe.
> 
> Recommendation 21: Government should support the London Agreement
> as an interim step towards COMPAT, and as an improvement in its
> own right.
> 
> Recommendation 22: Maintain a high quality of patents awarded by
> increasing the use of ‘section 21’ observations: streamlining
> procedures and raising awareness.
> 
> Recommendation 23: The Patent Office should conduct a pilot of Beth
> Noveck’s Community Patent Review in 2007 in the UK to determine
> whether this would have a positive impact on the quality of the
> patent stock.
> 
> Recommendation 24: The Patent Office should develop stronger links
> with universities and other research institutions, including through
> short placements, to ensure that IP examiners are aware of recent
> developments in technology.
> 
> Recommendation 25a: Introduce accelerated grant process for patents
> to complement the accelerated examination and combined patent search
> and examination procedures.
> 
> Recommendation 25b: Introduce fast track registration for trade
> marks.
> 
> Use
> 
> 
> Recommendation 26: The Patent Office should provide comprehensive
> information on how to register and use IP rights for firms
> registering with Companies House.
> 
> Recommendation 27: Improve SME business IP support by establishing
> formal collaboration between the Patent Office and Business Link and
> by conducting a pilot replicating the French ‘IP Genesis’ scheme.
> 
> Recommendation 28: Investigate how best to provide practical IP
> advice to UK firms operating in foreign markets, in coordination
> with industry bodies, the Patent Office and UK Trade and Investment.
> 
> Recommendation 29: The Patent Office should develop ‘Business-to-
> Business’ model IP licences through industry consultation, and
> assessment of the Lambert model licences.
> 
> Recommendation 30a: The Patent Office should publish and maintain
> an open standards web database, linked to the EPO’s address@hidden
> web database, containing all patents issued under licence of right.
> 
> Recommendation 30b: The Patent Office should publish and maintain
> an open standards web database, linked to address@hidden containing all
> expired patents.
> 
> Recommendation 31: DTI should consider whether guidance for firms
> on reporting of intangible assets could be improved, including the
> provision of model IP reports.
> 
> Recommendation 32: Form a working group with Patent Office, RDA and
> Business Link representation, to identify and promote best practice
> to maximise the use of effective schemes nationwide.
> 
> Recommendation 33: The Review invites the OFT to consider conducting
> a market survey into the UK collecting societies to ensure the
> needs of all stakeholders are being met.
> 
> Recommendation 34: Increase cooperation between the UK Patent Office,
> the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to ensure
> that competition and IP policy together foster competitive and
> innovative markets for the benefit of consumers.
> 
> Enforcement
> 
> 
> Recommendation 35: The Patent Office should continue to raise public
> awareness, focussing in particular on the wider impacts of IP crime,
> and the exceptions to rights.
> 
> Recommendation 36: Match penalties for online and physical copyright
> infringement by amending section 107 of the CDPA by 2008.
> 
> Recommendation 37: Monitor success of current measures to combat
> unfair competition in cases relating to IP, and if changes are found
> to be ineffective, Government should consult on appropriate changes.
> 
> Recommendation 38: DCA should review the issues raised in its
> forthcoming consultation paper on damages and seek further evidence
> to ensure that an effective and dissuasive system of damages exists
> for civil IP cases and that it is operating effectively. It should
> bring forward any proposals for change by the end of 2007.
> 
> Recommendation 39: Observe the industry agreement of protocols for
> sharing data between ISPs and rights holders to remove and disbar
> users engaged in ‘piracy’. If this has not proved operationally
> successful by the end of 2007, Government should consider whether
> to legislate.
> 
> Recommendation 40: DTI should consult on measures to tighten
> regulation of occasional sales and markets by 2007.
> 
> Recommendation 41: The Home Office should recognise IP crime as
> an area for Police action as a component of organised crime within
> the updated National Community Safety Plan.
> 
> Recommendation 42: Give Trading Standards the power to enforce
> copyright infringement by enacting section 107A of the Copyright,
> Designs and Patents Act 1988 by 2007.
> 
> Recommendation 43: Strengthen Practice Directions, to provide
> greater encouragement for parties to mediate, in particular this
> should raise the profile of mediation with judges.
> 
> Recommendation 44: The Patent Office should consult with the Judicial
> Studies Board to determine the extent to which the complexity of
> IP law may give rise to a training need for judges and magistrates
> and their legal advisers.
> 
> Recommendation 45: Support the establishment of a single EU court
> to adjudicate cross-border IP disputes by promoting the European
> Patent Litigation Agreement.
> 
> Governance
> 
> 
> Recommendation 46: Establish a new Strategic Advisory Board for IP
> policy (SABIP), covering the full range of IP rights, reporting
> to the minister responsible, by 2007. The Board should be drawn
> from a wide range of external experts as well as key senior policy
> officials from relevant government departments, and should be based
> in London. £150,000 should be allocated to fund the secretariat
> by the Patent Office.
> 
> Recommendation 47: The Patent Office should provide an annual IP
> strategic analysis fund of £500,000 managed by the policy advisory
> board in consultation with the IP Policy Directorate.
> 
> Recommendation 48: Patent Office should introduce a clear split of
> responsibility between delivery and policy directorates.
> 
> Recommendation 49: Encourage IP policy officials to obtain policy
> experience outside the IP Policy Branch, and support short industry
> placement schemes for policy staff.
> 
> Recommendation 50: Realign UK Patent Office administrative fees to
> cover costs more closely on Patent Office administrative operations
> (e.g. granting patents).
> 
> Recommendation 51: Increase the transparency of Patent Office
> financial reporting.
> 
> Recommendation 52: Ensure that under current arrangements in the
> Patent Office, there is a clear internal separation of responsibility
> between the granting of rights and disputes over their ownership
> or validity. This should be achieved by clearly separating the line
> management structures.
> 
> Recommendation 53: Change the name of the UK Patent Office to the
> UK Intellectual Property Office (UK- IPO) to reflect the breadth
> of functions the office has, and to dispel confusion.
> 
> Recommendation 54: DCA should review the issues raised in relation
> to IP cases and the fast track, and seek views in the context of
> its forthcoming consultation paper, which will consider the case
> track limits, and how the claims process can be made more timely,
> proportionate and cost- effective. It should bring forward any
> proposals for change by the end of 2007.

More details
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/gowers_review_intellectual_property/gowersreview_index.cfm

Regards,
-- 
MJ Ray - see/vidu http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Somerset, England. Work/Laborejo: http://www.ttllp.co.uk/
IRC/Jabber/SIP: on request/peteble.
I've ~37 litres of packing chips for free locally - email me.