UK Copyright Gowers report due

December 5, 2006

The Gowers Review Report is to be published shortly. Early indications are that Gowers will recommend an exception in copyright law for ‘private copying’. This is rather unsettling.
Of course in advance of the publication we do not yet know how “private copying” is intended to be interpreted. But it does have the potential to affect both Social, Fine Art and Commercial photographers.
One can imagine that copying of wedding proofs or limited edition prints could seriously undermine the creators right to an income. Furthermore any proliferation of “orphan copies” (copies not bearing any copyright information), made ostensibly as ‘private copies’, could cause havoc if sold openly in the market place.

The British Copyright Council would greatly appreciate your views.
Contact them via their web site…