Annex D
GOWERS REVIEW OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
At the Enterprise Conference on 2 December 2005,
the Chancellor announced that, as part of the Pre-Budget Report
2005 package, he was asking Andrew Gowers to lead an Independent
Review to examine the UK's intellectual property framework, reporting
to the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in Autumn
2006.
TERMS OF
REFERENCE
Objectives
The Labour Party manifesto included a commitment
to "modernise copyright and other forms of intellectual property
so that they are appropriate for the digital age".
The UK's IP regime is a critical component of
our present and future success in the global knowledge economy.
It must provide the optimal incentives for private industry and
individuals to innovate and invest to create value, whilst preventing
excessive inefficiencies and monopoly costs which can reduce competition
and impede incremental innovation.
The regime is particularly important as our
economic competitiveness is increasingly driven by knowledge-based
industries, especially in manufacturing, science-based sectors
and the creative industries.
Whilst the Government believes the present UK
system strikes broadly the right balance between consumers and
rights-holders, the review will examine whether improvements could
be made and, as appropriate, make targeted and practical policy
recommendations.
Scope
The review will provide an analysis of the performance
of the UK IP system, including inter alia:
— the way in which Government
administers the awarding of IP and their support to consumers
and business;
— how well businesses are able
to negotiate the complexity and expense of the copyright and patent
system, including copyright and patent licensing arrangements,
litigation and enforcement; and
— whether the current technical
and legal IP infringement framework reflects the digital environment,
and whether provisions for "fair use" by citizens are
reasonable.
The Government has previously committed to examining
whether the current term of copyright protection on sound recordings
and performers' rights is appropriate. This will also be conducted
within the review.
NOTES i Note
that 1998 figure estimated the Creative Industries contribution
to GDP. As a result of refinements made in our understanding of
the Creative Industries since 1998 DCMS prefers to use GVA ensuring
that current data is more accurate than 1998 estimates. Also note
that definition of what constitutes the Creative Industries has
changed over time. The figures presented are the best comparable
data available.
ii Ofcom (2005) The Communications Market
2005 London: Ofcom.
iii http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/09FC84CC497D1569852570F800723E7A
iv Jeffcutt P & Pratt A (2002) "Editorial:
Managing Creativity in the Cultural Industries" Creativity
and Innovation Management 11(4): 225-233.
v A key aspect of Government policy has
been to encourage private finance to provide the capital and take
the risk of investing in the new and growing creative sector.
Given the fragmented nature of the industries and the lack of
tangible assets to offset risk, the Government's focus on encouraging
equity investment in unlisted securities, and in the development
of secondary equity markets, such as the Alternative Investments
Market (AIM), has been of particular relevance to this sector.
Notwithstanding the dot com crash, venture capital funding has
expanded in the creative industries. Furthermore, a growing number
of firms from these sectors have been floated on the AIM and an
increasing amount of capital is being raised.
vi Lennhart A & Madden M (2005) "Teens
Content Creation" Pew Internet & American Life Project
Washington DC, USA.
vii BBC summary of Creative Archive Licence:
"This licence allows people within the UK to not only watch
and download content but edit clips and programming as long as
it is for non-commercial purposes. This site offers archive news
footage for you to access and download. It's an entirely new kind
of BBC service—in pilot stage—which is not just about
enjoying its output but about using it to create content of your
own. We want you to feel free to watch, mix and share the archive
content on offer here but please remember it is not wholly BBC
owned, some copyright is still retained by the independent programme
makers, and the musicians, performers and artists who created
it. This is the reason why we have attached certain terms and
conditions to its use and are licensing it to you. We are not
in a position to let you sell it, or sell on products you create
with it, for example, or allow you to use it to endorse your charity
or business. We ask you to agree to the conditions of the Creative
Archive Licence before you can download the files offered here
and also that you attach the same Creative Archive Licence to
anything you create with it".
viii http://www.ahrb.ac.uk/apply/research/sfi/ahrcsi/designing_for_the_21st_century.asp
ix http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/Research/CTC/
x http://www.dti.gov.uk/technologyprogramme/
xi http://www.strategy.gov.uk/downloads/work_areas/digital_strategy/report/index.htm
xii For instance, the Disability Rights
Commission found 81% of websites fail to satisfy basic accessibility
criteria.
xiii http://www.digitalchallenge.org.uk/
xiv http://www.adassoc.org.uk/News_Release_091205.pdf
xv http://www.emap.com/nav?page=emap.news.story&resource=3301345
28 February 2006
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