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September 22, 2014
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Government publishes consultation on how and when to implement repeal of s 52 of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Ofcom invites comments on Annual Plan for 2015/16.
Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit celebrates successes on first anniversary.
European Commissioner Neelie Kroes says current copyright laws are restricting Europe’s digital future.
Ofcom, in conjunction with other agencies, publishes new information for consumers on using apps safely and securely.
Ofcom and UK telephone industry working together on new consumer information campaign to explain major changes to telephone calls.
Ofcom launches consultation on proposals to extend Recognised Spectrum Access (RSA) to new frequency bands to promote the more efficient use of spectrum.
MEPs say digital single market needs to be better integrated.
European Data Protection Authorities agree common “tool box” to ensure coordinated approach to complaints.
Ofcom issues progress update on local TV.
UK Music publishes annual economic study, Measuring Music, which shows the contribution UK music made to the British economy in 2013.
High Court continues anti-harassment injunction granted to Russell Brand and Jemima Goldsmith.
Court of Justice of European Union confirms that online newspaper publishers are not intermediaries under E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC).
European Commission publishes feedback from consultation on Green Paper “Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values“.
European Commission launches Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competitions to tackle match fixing.
ASA rules two poster ads in “Ladbrokes Life” multi-media campaign condoned irresponsible attitude towards gambling.
Government publishes consultation on how and when to implement repeal of s 52 of Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The repeal of s 52 of the CDPA will remove a permitted act in law that reduces the term of copyright protection for artistic works that have been industrially manufactured to 25 years from first marketing of the items. Repeal will mean that such works are protected for the standard term of 70 years plus the life of the author. The Government has proposed a three-year transition period with the repeal taking effect on 6 April 2018.
The repeal will obviously benefit creators or those to whom rights have been transferred. However, the Government wishes to implement the repeal in a way that reduces negative impacts on those businesses that have been operating legitimately under the current s 52.
This consultation document sets out factors the Government has considered in determining its proposed three-year transition period from April 2015. It seeks further evidence on the impact on UK-based rights holders and designers and seeks information on the impact on UK businesses if the repeal takes effect on 6 April 2018 as proposed. To access the consultation documentation, click here.
Ofcom invites comments on Annual Plan for 2015/16.
Ofcom has invited members of the public, as well as those working in the industries it regulates, to contribute to its work plan and priorities for the next financial year.
The Invitation to Comment encourages anyone with an interest in Ofcom’s activities to offer their views on which areas of the telecoms, media, postal and spectrum industries should be addressed in Ofcom’s Annual Plan for 2015/16.
Responses from the public and stakeholders will help inform the draft Annual Plan, which Ofcom will consult on in December. Ofcom expects to publish its final plan in March 2015.
Comments should be submitted by 5pm on 15 October 2014. To access the Invitation to Comment, click here.
Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit celebrates successes on first anniversary.
On the first anniversary of its operation, PIPCU has announced its latest success stories. Since April 2014 the team has diverted more than 2.5 million visits from copyright infringing sites to a domain suspension page. This is an official message from the City of London Police, which is the National Policing Lead Force for Fraud, warning the user that the website they are trying to access is currently under investigation by PIPCU. The message also includes signposts to safe and reliable websites that provide legitimate access to music, films and books, as well as a link to the PIPCU website so users can find out more information about the unit.
Other key successes for the team over the past twelve months include: seizing more than £1.29 million worth of suspected fake goods following raids across the UK; disrupting nearly 3,000 websites; receiving more than 200 referrals from industry and making 34 arrests.
City of London Police Detective Chief Inspector Danny Medlycott, who is the Head of PIPCU, said: “Over the past twelve months PIPCU has gone from strength to strength, successfully targeting, disrupting and dismantling suspected organised crime gangs and lone operators, who we believe have been making hundreds of thousands of pounds and costing UK industries millions. At the same time we have also developed relationships with international and national law enforcement partners including agencies in the U.S and China, to share best practice and intelligence“.
European Commissioner Neelie Kroes says current copyright laws are restricting Europe’s digital future.
Speaking at the recent International Broadcasting Convention 2014 in Amsterdam, Ms Kroes said that copyright reform is essential to bring about a digital single market and that current rules are obstructing Europe’s digital future.
Ms Kroes said: “My dream is a market that is open, borderless and competitive. Stimulating a sector pushes innovation, creativity and culture“. However, she said, there are currently too many barriers in place to achieve this. In particular, more work is needed on removing territorial restrictions.
To achieve a digital single market Europe needs first to ensure open access to content. “That starts with net neutrality“, Ms Kroes said, so that viewers are free to access whatever they choose without their provider deciding for them. However, access to content also means platform neutrality, search neutrality and more. “We need to focus on the whole value chain“. Ms Kroes said.
Secondly, the rules in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU), which is due for review in 2015 (see item below), are “too dated or too detailed to deal with digital“, Ms Kroes said, and in some areas there is room for deregulation, for greater industry cooperation and for legislation that is not too prescriptive and that is based on clear principles. Self- and co-regulation are “nothing new“, Ms Kroes said, and they are “well-suited to the online world“, which is fast moving and flexible. “If we are too rigid, too controlling, or too intrusive we will crush diversity and constrain innovation“, she said.
Thirdly, in order to channel quality content, Europe needs network capacity, Ms Kroes said. To that end the Commission is stimulating significant investment in broadband, both private and public. “Every European now has basic broadband coverage; we now need to push for fast and superfast broadband everywhere. Agreeing our package on the telecoms single market could take that a step further“, she said.
This also means mobile capacity, Ms Kroes added, i.e. radio spectrum. “With strong demand from players old and new – Europe needs to use its spectrum resources better. We need to plan ahead and act together, to avoid falling behind“.
Ms Kroes concluded by giving advice to her successor under Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker’s new cabinet, once it is formed: “Don’t regulate too far or too fast: in some markets – still changing and converging – action would be premature. In other areas, like copyright, reform is long overdue. So let’s take every opportunity to deregulate and adapt“. To read Ms Kroes’ speech in full, click here.
Ofcom, in conjunction with other agencies, publishes new information for consumers on using apps safely and securely.
While apps provide a simple and easy means of accessing content and services, it is important that consumers are aware of how to use them safely and securely, Ofcom says.
The new guide, which has been produced by Ofcom in association with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Competition and Markets Authority, PhonepayPlus and the Financial Conduct Authority, includes tips to help consumers make the most of their smart device and apps and how to use them with confidence.
The guide advises consumers to install apps from recognised app stores, since some apps can exploit a mobile device once installed. It also advises consumers to consider content ratings and to be aware of what permissions they are granting when downloading an app. Consumers should also be aware of costs, especially for roaming and in-app purchases, and essentially treat their phones as they treat their wallets. Finally, consumers should delete apps they no longer use and erase all apps if donating, reselling or recycling a mobile device. To read the guide in full, click here.
Ofcom and UK telephone industry working together on new consumer information campaign to explain major changes to telephone calls.
The six-month national campaign is planned to launch in January 2015, under the banner “UK Calling”. It will explain two important changes coming into effect in summer 2015: clearer call rates for 08, 09 and 118 calls; and Freephone (0800 and 0808) calls becoming free from all mobiles.
From January 2015, UK Calling information will be provided directly to landline and mobile customers, using channels such as paper and online bills, text messages, customer magazines, social media and high street stores. There will also be advertising across national newspapers, radio stations and online.
Ofcom is coordinating the campaign, supported by the UK’s largest telephone providers: BT, EE, O2, Sky, TalkTalk, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone. KC, the major operator in Kingston upon Hull, is also involved in the campaign. The changes themselves will apply to all consumer mobile and landline phones in the UK. To read Ofcom’s press release in full, click here.
Ofcom launches consultation on proposals to extend Recognised Spectrum Access (RSA) to new frequency bands to promote the more efficient use of spectrum.
Essentially, RSA is a means for Ofcom to take into account, within national spectrum planning, the use of frequencies used for the reception of services that do not need to be licensed.
In this instance, it relates to “receive-only earth stations” (ROES), which are ground-based satellite terminals that receive signals from meteorological satellites, earth exploration satellites and support space missions, but do not transmit.
Ofcom is proposing to make changes to RSA regulations relating to ROES. Specifically, it is proposing to make RSA for ROES available in two additional frequency bands, namely 7850–7900 MHz and 25.5–26.5 GHz. The consultation closes on 6 November 2014. To access the consultation documentation, click here.
MEPs say digital single market needs to be better integrated.
More effort is needed to integrate the EU digital single market so as to unlock its growth and job-creating potential, stressed MEPs in last week’s debate with EU Commissioner Michel Barnier.
According to MEPs, measures to bring together the 28 national digital markets should include ending mobile roaming charges, promoting e-commerce, ensuring open access to the internet for users and neutral treatment of its service providers, as well as better data protection.
Commissioner Barnier noted that “over the last five years, significant progress has been made on creating digital single market, but numerous obstacles still exist“. He stressed that only 14% of the EU’s small and medium-sized enterprises trade online.
Many MEPs shared the view that the digital single market is far from complete. “Member states need to get away from their egocentric focus on their own rules. We need more uniform rules and a level playing field for SMEs in Europe“, said Andreas Schwab (DE) for the EPP group.
“A Czech should be able to buy music from France“, said Dita Charanzova (ALDE, CZ) regretting that the digital “single market” is in many ways still fragmented among the 28 Member States.
Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens, DE) stressed that net neutrality and data protection were not yet working. “We need also to build physical infrastructure to improve internet access“, added David Borrelli (EFDD, IT). To read the European Parliament’s press release in full, click here.
European Data Protection Authorities agree common “tool box” to ensure coordinated approach to complaints.
European data protection authority members of the Article 29 Working Party met on 16 to 17 September to discuss the follow-up to the CJEU ruling in Google Spain, pursuant to which search engines are now obliged to remove links to an individual’s data from its results lists (if requested to do so) in accordance with certain criteria. Following an extensive exchange of views on the effects of the ruling, the Working Party agreed on a common “tool-box” to ensure a coordinated approach to the handling of complaints resulting from search engines’ refusals to “de-list” complainants.
Over the summer, European data protection authorities have received various complaints as a result of search engines’ refusals to de-list complainants from their results. This illustrates, the Working Party says, that the ruling “has addressed a genuine demand for data protection from data subjects“. It is therefore necessary, it says, to have a “coordinated and consistent approach in the handling of these complaints“.
Accordingly, the Working Party decided to put in place a network of dedicated contact persons in order to develop common case-handling criteria to handle complaints. This network will provide data protection authorities with a common record of decisions taken on complaints and a dashboard to help identify similar cases as well as new or more difficult cases.
The Working Party has also continued with its consultation process with stakeholders. After meeting search engines in July, the Working Party has now also met with media companies.
The Working Party is continuing to analyse how search engines are complying with the ruling. To read the Working Party’s press release in full, click here.
Ofcom issues progress update on local TV.
Two years since the first local TV licences were awarded, Ofcom has published a progress update.
Following the passing of local TV legislation by Parliament in 2011, Ofcom has now issued 30 licences across the UK to a wide range of different organisations, small and large. Six local TV channels are now on air, having broadcast 6,400 hours of local programmes to a potential audience of six million across the UK, while more than ten stations are preparing for launch before February 2015.
A second phase of licensing is now under way and Ofcom says that there is continued interest from potential applicants in launching channels across the UK.
Local TV licensees are varied in type and size, Ofcom says, and licensees range from not-for-profit community ventures to new commercial partnerships between local newspapers, TV production companies and educational institutions. In awarding local TV licences, Ofcom says that it conducts a thorough assessment of the bids to select the one that best meets the requirements set by Parliament, such as meeting the needs of the local area. Bidders must demonstrate that they would be financially sustainable and provide evidence that funding is in place, or would be if their application were successful.
However, Ofcom says, the nature of awarding licences for a new type of service in a competitive media market means that it is very unlikely that all channels will succeed. For example, the holder of the Birmingham licence has gone into administration. The administrator is looking to transfer the licence to another party that could launch the service (which would require Ofcom’s consent). If this proves not possible, Ofcom says that it will promptly re-advertise the licence in Birmingham. To read Ofcom’s press release in full, click here.
UK Music publishes annual economic study, Measuring Music, which shows the contribution UK music made to the British economy in 2013.
The study shows that music’s economic contribution in 2013 was as follows:
- Gross value added of £3.8 billion;
- Gross value added up 9% year-on-year (£3.5 billion in 2012);
- more than 111,000 full time jobs supported; and
- music exports of £2.2 billion.
Measuring Music
presents 2013 data for six thematic groupings that define the core music industry, as follows:
- musicians, singers, composers, songwriters and lyricists (£1.7 billion);
- recorded music (£618 million);
- live music (£789 million);
- music publishers (£436 million);
- music representatives (£80 million); and
- music producers, recording studios and staff (£102 million).
Jo Dipple, CEO of UK Music said: “We all know how amazing British music is. Now we can put a figure to its value. Last year its contribution to our economy grew by 9%. This is a big deal. We lead the world in song writing, composing, production, recordings and live performances. You only have to glance at the 2014 Mercury nominees to understand what an eclectic, unique and world-leading bunch of musicians work in this country … Measuring Music provides us with the data to accurately show Government and policy makers how important an industry we are to the UK economy …“. To access the full report, click here.
High Court continues anti-harassment injunction granted to Russell Brand and Jemima Goldsmith.
In June 2014 Ms Goldsmith arranged a professional massage from the defendant, Szilvia Berki as a birthday present for Mr Brand. There was subsequently a meeting between Mr Brand, Ms Goldsmith and Ms Berki at Ms Goldsmith’s house. There was a dispute as to what occurred at that meeting. Mr Brand and Ms Goldsmith said that Mr Brand was uneasy with Ms Berki and did not wish to proceed with the massage. Ms Berki, on the other hand, alleged that she was the victim of wrongful and criminal conduct. In the end, Ms Berki’s services as a masseuse were not taken up and she was driven home and paid her agreed fee.
Following the meeting, Ms Berki contacted journalists and the police, sent emails and posted online various allegations of serious criminal behaviour against Mr Brand and Ms Goldsmith.
In August 2014, Mr Brand and Ms Goldsmith applied to the High Court for an emergency anti-harassment injunction against Ms Berki. Mr Justice Lewis subsequently granted an injunction preventing Ms Berki from: i) communicating with the claimants; ii) making any approach to or responding to any enquiry from any journalist or media organisation in relation to the claimants; and c) publishing or disclosing to any person any information concerning her attendance at Ms Goldsmith’s home or any allegation or insinuation that the claimants had committed any criminal offence.
Pending trial, Mr Brand and Ms Goldsmith applied for the injunction to be continued, arguing that Ms Berki had unlawfully harassed them and would continue to do so absent the imposition of injunctive relief.
Mr Justice Carr found that, on the basis of the material before him, which included a confidential schedule containing the very serious and sensitive allegations made by Ms Berki against the claimants, Mr Brand and Ms Goldsmith were likely to succeed in establishing at trial that Ms Berki had committed the tort of harassment. Ms Berki’s activities went “well beyond annoyance” and could “fairly be described as oppressive and unacceptable“, he said. Further, such conduct amounted to harassment within the meaning of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, causing alarm or distress to the claimants, and Ms Berki knew or ought to have known that her course of conduct amounted to harassment, as she was the instigator of all relevant activities: the communications were either sent direct to the claimants or to parties whom she knew or ought to have known would inform the claimants of their contents.
As for the balance of convenience, Carr J found that it was clear on the evidence that Ms Berki would continue to harass the claimants if not restrained. Damages were no, let alone an adequate, remedy in the circumstances, he said, and the balance of convenience lay firmly in favour of continuing the injunctive relief sought until the full trial of the matter. (Russell Brand v Szilvia (aka Silvie) Berki [2014] EWHC 2979 (QB) (11 September 2014) – to read the judgment in full, click here).
Court of Justice of European Union confirms that online newspaper publishers are not intermediaries under E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC).
A Cypriot national, Mr Papasavvas, sued a Cypriot newspaper publisher in defamation in relation to articles published in its daily newspaper and on its website. The Cypriot court referred various questions to the CJEU regarding the interpretation of “information society service”, “service provider” and “intermediary service provider” under the E-Commerce Directive.
Essentially, the Cypriot court was concerned that subscribers to the online newspaper service were not required to pay a fee to access the content. Therefore, it queried whether the definitions of “information society service” and “service provider” in Article 2 of the E-Commerce Directive covered online information services the remuneration for which was provided not directly by the recipient, but indirectly by means of commercial advertisements posted on the website. Amongst other things, the Cypriot court also queried whether the limitations of civil liability specified in Articles 12 to 14 of the E-Commerce Directive applied to the case of a newspaper publishing company publishing content online. In other words, the Cypriot court asked whether such a publishing company could be an “intermediary”.
The CJEU found that Article 2(a) of the E-Commerce Directive defines the terms “information society services” by making a reference to Article 1 of The Technical Standards Directive 98/34, which refers to any service “normally provided for remuneration“, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services.
As for whether that remuneration had to be provided by the recipient of the service himself, the CJEU said that such a condition was expressly excluded by Recital 18 in the preamble to the E-Commerce Directive, in the light of which, Article 2(a) must be interpreted to mean that “information society services” extend, in so far as they represent an economic activity, to services “which are not remunerated by those who receive them, such as those offering on-line information or commercial communications“. Therefore, the online newspaper publisher was indeed an “information society service”.
As for whether an online newspaper publisher could be an “intermediary” meaning that the limitations of civil liability specified in Articles 12 to 14 of the E-Commerce Directive would apply, the CJEU said that, since such a publishing company has, in principle, knowledge about the information which it posts and exercises control over that information, it cannot be considered to be an “intermediary service provider”, whether or not access to that website is free of charge. Therefore, the limits of liability in Articles 12 to 14 did not apply to a newspaper publisher of online content. (Case C-291/13 Sotiris Papasavas v O Fileleftheros Dimosia Etairia Ltd (11 September 2014) – to access the judgment in full, go to the curia search form, type in the case number and follow the link).
European Commission publishes feedback from consultation on Green Paper “Preparing for a Fully Converged Audiovisual World: Growth, Creation and Values“.
The Green Paper invited stakeholders to share their views on the changing media landscape and to respond to 27 questions. The questions covered issues related to market developments and the regulatory framework with a focus on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU).
The consultation ran from 24 April 2013 to 30 September 2013. Two hundred and thirty six replies were received from broadcasters, advertisers, network operators, cinema, film and TV producers, publishers, the digital industry, regulators, researchers as well as entities with focus on protection of minors, consumers, viewers and citizens and accessibility. Respondents’ views were split on most of the areas touched on in the Green Paper.
The AVMSD provides for minimum rules at European level in order to facilitate the creation of an internal market for audiovisual media services. Audiovisual media service providers are subject only to the rules applicable in the country where they are established. Many respondents supported this approach. However, some respondents suggested that the rules of the country of destination should be applied, at least in certain fields.
The AVMSD covers television broadcasts and on-demand. Some respondents advocated that the AVMSD should be broadened to encompass services that are either outside of the definition given by the Directive and/or those that fall outside its geographical scope. Others cautioned against a broadening and argued that this approach was not justified and would prejudice innovation. Many respondents raised the question of self- and co-regulation as a possible way forward.
Under the current EU rules a system of graduated regulation applies to the protection of minors. The less control a viewer has and the more harmful a specific content could be, the more restrictions apply. While concerns were raised and many respondents questioned the status quo, no clear agreement on the way forward emerged from the responses.
Several respondents advocated changes in particular to quantitative and qualitative rules currently applied to commercial communications. The requests for changes went in both directions: some favoured the liberalisation of rules for linear services, whilst others envisaged stricter rules for non-linear services. For further information, click here.
European Commission launches Convention on Manipulation of Sports Competitions to tackle match fixing.
The Convention was declared open for signature on 18 September at a Council of Europe conference of Sport Ministers in Macolin, Switzerland. Over the past two years, the European Commission has played a key role in the preparation and negotiation of the agreement.
The Convention, jointly prepared by the Commission, EU Member States and other members of the Council of Europe, aims to prevent, detect and fight match-fixing and the manipulation of sport competitions. It calls on governments across Europe to launch measures to prevent conflicts of interest among sports betting operators and sports organisations, as well as to encourage sports betting regulatory authorities to step up the fight against fraud and illegal betting.
European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said: “Match-fixing is a cross-border problem and action at European level is essential if we are to combat this scourge. We need to ensure that everyone involved in the fight against the fraudsters works together as a team. This Convention will help to increase cooperation between the sport movement, betting operators, law enforcement authorities, governments and the European institutions. It’s a fight we have to win“. For further information, click here.
ASA rules two poster ads in “Ladbrokes Life” multi-media campaign condoned irresponsible attitude towards gambling.
The “Ladbrokes Life” campaign was based on five male characters each with their own nickname: The Believer, Generous John, Mr Brightside, The Professor and Gut Truster. The TV ads, YouTube and VOD videos introduced these characters in the style of Reservoir Dogs, i.e. the group was shown walking in slow motion down an alleyway whilst music played. The ads cut back and forth between this scene and shots of the group, either together or individually, in various scenarios including playing football, at the pub, at the races and in a nightclub. The campaign also consisted of posters each featuring one of the characters.
One of the posters showed an image of Mr Brightside and text stated “WHEN YOU WIN IT’S SKILL – WHEN YOU LOSE IT’S BAD LUCK“. The slogan “This is the Ladbrokes Life” also featured. The other poster showed an image of The Professor, accompanied by the text “ONCE IS LUCK – TWICE IS TALENT” and the same slogan.
Following complaints that the ads were irresponsible because they portrayed gambling behaviour that was socially irresponsible, the ASA largely gave the campaign the green light, saying that it was sufficiently clear that the personality traits described were not direct incitements by Ladbrokes of particular approaches to gambling, rather that they were gently humorous observations of the characters’ general attitudes towards life. However, the ASA considered that the statements in the two posters in question, when isolated from the story presented in the TV, VOD and YouTube ads, would likely to be understood as endorsements from Ladbrokes directly about individual approaches towards gambling that were each epitomised by the person pictured. The ASA considered in that context that the posters featuring Mr Brightside and The Professor condoned an irresponsible attitude towards gambling and thereby breached CAP Code rules 1.3 (Responsible advertising), 16.1 and 16.3.1 (Gambling). To read ASA Adjudication on Ladbrokes Betting & Gaming Ltd (17 September 2014), click here.
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