Copyright & IP

Why is it important?

News requires investment and the commercial viability of a news media publisher is dependent on its ability to robustly protect the intellectual property it creates and curates. A stable copyright regime is therefore crucial not only to a healthy and vibrant news media industry but also to free speech and democracy.  In the digital age, this has become even more important and the need for efficient copyright protection and better enforcement of the rules is greater than ever before.

Current situation

The current regime generally strikes the right balance in terms of protecting the rights of content creators and the rights of consumers or users. Any significant new exceptions could be highly damaging to the news media industry.

In Europe, copyright review is likely to be high on the agenda of the Juncker Commission while changes are also being introduced by the UK government. 

The UK Government is introducing changes to copyright exceptions contained in the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 which follow publication of the Hargreaves Review in May 2011. The Intellectual Property Office will be reviewing the operation of the exceptions - which cover a range of uses including quotation, archiving, text and data mining, parody, caricature and pastiche - a year after they come into force.

The UK Government has introduced changes to copyright exceptions contained in the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.

What is the NMA doing about it?

The NMA works at a European and UK level to safeguard the intellectual property rights of its member news media publishers. This involves working with stakeholders such as News Media Europe and Publishers’ Content Forum to protect publisher copyright and intellectual property and to ensure the industry’s voice is clearly heard.