UK, EU, and Global IP Policy
Since the early ’90s, the European Union has been acting as a global actor in the process of international harmonization of the laws protecting Intellectual Property Rights. Besides working towards the harmonization of the Intellectual Property laws of the Member States, the EU has also acted at international level to promote approximations of laws as an instrument of free trade and transfer of knowledge. Copyright is an important asset in this scheme, as the European Cultural production factors for a sizeable share of the global market.
The Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM) of Bournemouth University contributes to the European and international IP policy-making by joining the debate among governments, European institutions and IP scholars. For example, CIPPM has been part of the consortium of the EU funded project SEARCH (Sharing KnowledgE Assets: InteRregionally Cohesive NeigHborhoods) where it has carried out research to identify and explore barriers to innovation in the integration process between the European Union and its neighbouring countries. At policy level, CIPPM advocates for an EU copyright system which takes into account the legitimate interests of users of copyright works. In 2008, CIPPM has played a major role in the debate surrounding the Directive on the extension of copyright terms for sound recordings, by promoting a Joint Academic Statement signed by more than 50 EU academics. More recently, CIPPM has submitted a contribution to the open consultation of the European Union on the reform of Copyright Law, and has organized an international symposium on Geographical Indications (the first of this kind in the UK). Finally, the Centre is often involved in government-funded comparative research to study and assess the international landscape related to IPRs, mostly with a European interest. In this connection, the Centre has recently started a major research project on regulation of Internet Service Providers in China.
European and Global Intellectual Property Policy is an important subject-matter for our research Centre, which has developed and will develop even more projects, fellowship schemes, networks, and various academic activities in crucial areas of international innovation and dissemination of culture.
Software and Copyright - Seeking Clarity Through European Copyright Law Project coordinator: Dinusha Mendis Project description The project explores the opportunities and challenges presented by new and emerging technologies with a specific focus on software and its implications for EU copyright and copyright licensing. In doing so, the project will particularly question the concept of the ‘author’ and ‘owner’... Read more » about Software and Copyright Copyright exceptions as user’s rights - Project coordinators: Maurizio Borghi and Guy Pessach Project description Permitted uses of copyright works are an integral part of the copyright system. They play a key role in securing a balance between affording the copyright holder certain rights while encouraging others to use the work to build new knowledge. However, contemporary research underscores copyright’s chilling... Read more » about Copyright exceptions as user’s rights Robots, the new judges - Digital rights and defences in the networked environment Project coordinator: Dr Marcella Favale Project description Internet platforms, currently labelled by law as ‘intermediaries’, have revolutionized the digital world as we know it. Online purchases, free content, social contacts, are all parts of this scenario. In this picture, internet users are also content creators, but to... Read more » about Robots, the new judges Illegal IPTV in the European Union - A project funded by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and carried out by an interdisciplinary team of experts from Bournemouth University, including the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management (CIPPM) and the Cyber Security Unit. >> Report published on 27 November 2019 The infringement of broadcasting rights online has grown significantly in the... Read more » about Illegal IPTV in the European Union
K. Erickson, P. Heald, F. Homberg, M. Kretschmer and D. Mendis – Copyright and the Value of the Public Domain - K. Erickson, P. Heald, F. Homberg, M. Kretschmer and D. Mendis – Copyright and the Value of the Public Domain: An Empirical Assessment (London: Intellectual Property Office; 2015) Download Report here (81 pages). This Report is the outcome of a knowledge exchange scheme which brings together academics (from the disciplines of law, media & communication... Read more » about K. Erickson, P. Heald, F. Homberg, M. Kretschmer and D. Mendis – Copyright and the Value of the Public Domain