16 January 2013

A consortium of the world’s largest news agencies, commercial licensing companies and commercial audiovisual archives has called on the Government to rethink its plans to weaken copyright law and its use of secondary legislation.

The Government’s proposals are being implemented through the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Bill, currently being debated in the House of Lords.

The consortium, which includes The Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, British Pathe, The Press Association and the Federation of Commercial and Audiovisual Libraries, has delivered a Letter Before Claim to Business Secretary Vince Cable, the first step towards initiating a Judicial Review — a formal legal challenge to planned legislation and the way in which the Government proposes to introduce it.

The Consortium believes that any changes to the UK’s copyright framework should be industry-led and fully supports the creation of the Copyright Hub — an initiative led by businesses and stakeholders to create a digital registry of copyrighted works.

See also articles Stop43, BJP, and full press release.