The review by Ian Hargreaves into Intellectual Property and Growth, released on Wednesday, calls for an overhaul of intellectual property rights, the recommendations follow findings in the report that suggest current regulations are obstructing growth.

Major entertainment companies and internet service providers attended a roundtable on online content in the digital age. 

The Parliamentary Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is conducting an inquiry into the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Online.

The NCA has submitted its response to Arts Council England’s Achieving great art for everyone consultation, ACE’s ten-year strategy which aims to place the arts at the centre of national life and ensure their continued growth throughout the next decade.

The Digital Economy Bill has now passed through the House of Commons at super broadband speed as part of the ‘wash up’ process of Bills being passed before Parliament is dissolved. The debates at the Bill’s Second Reading in the Commons on Tuesday, 6 April and in Committee Stage on Wednesday, 7 April, indicated that although the Bill received cross party support for its principles, there was still much to object to in the detail.

The most hotly debated clauses were those that outlined the powers to take action on unlawful downloading of content and file sharing and the powers reserved to the Secretary of State to invoke sanctions when infringements took place.

Unusually so close after Christmas, Parliament is focussed on no fewer than four pieces of legislation which are of interest to the arts sector.

The Digital Economy Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords, scrutinising proposed legislation and measures, some of which could, if accepted, have a great deal of impact on the sector.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a digest of the bill, which was announced during the Queen’s speech last week. The bill outlines a number of proposals which may have an impact on the arts sector. There has been much publicity about the online file-sharing measure, in which internet users may be disconnected following 3 counts of illegal file-sharing. The bill also aims to modernise and facilitate the copyright system, support the plurality of regional and local news, and extend public lending rights to include digital material such as audio and e-books, providing reward to artists and producers when material is lent out from public libraries.

After all night negotiations, the European Parliament and Council have reached a compromise on file-sharing, stating that users in all 27 EU states would be subject to a "fair and impartial procedure" before being disconnected. The new rules represent a compromise between those who seek more protection for consumers and those who continue to argue that copyright law is being disregarded by many computer users.

Issue 78, Winter 2007

Theme(s) / Primary Articles:

Music Education Music Enterprise Music Life Make Your Own Music

Contributors:

Margaret Hodge  Diane Abbott Nicholas Kenyon Jim Tough

Issue 81, Summer 2008

Theme(s) / Primary Articles:

Composers' Rights Leaps of Faith Great Expectations...

Contributors:

David Bedford Zoe Brigley Maggi Hambling Thelma Holt