APRIL 2008
Barry Trotter and the infringement of copyright - parody rules in the UK
The UK is considering a new exception to copyright infringement for parody, pastiche and caricature. Darren Meale and Paul England explain what it will need to address
| One-minute read |
Following a recommendation in the 2006 Gowers Review of intellectual property, the UK Intellectual Property Office is consulting over proposed changes to the copyright law that could introduce a new exception to copyright infringement based on parody. In this article, Darren Meale and Paul England outline the present law in the UK and compare it to the rules in Australia, the US and 12 key European jurisdictions.
The authors also assess how any likely exception to the UK rules on copyright infringement for parody would work in practice. |
In the Gowers Report into intellectual property in the UK, published in December 2006, Andrew Gowers identified a need to improve "the balance and flexibility of IP rights to allow individuals, businesses and institutions to use content in ways consistent with the digital age". Included in the Report's 150 pages and 54 recommendations were two paragraphs considering, very briefly, the introduction of an exception to copyright infringement for the purposes of caricature, parody or pastiche.
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