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Happy New Year!
Welcome to the first JISC Legal newsletter of 2011, giving you a round up of our news items from December 2010.
2011 is undoubtedly going to be a challenging year for many institutions. We hope that the services offered by JISC Legal will help you make informed decisions on the legal issues which might otherwise hamper the effective use of appropriate technologies in teaching, learning, research and administration. For our part, we’ll be keeping a close eye on sector needs, and we’re already preparing guidance in relation to legal aspects of cloud computing, and those in relation to outsourcing and mergers. However, if you feel there’s a need not being covered, please let us know – details athttp://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ContactUs/FeedbackForm.aspx.
As with previous newsletters, this newsletter has three sections:
- Legal News Digest for FE and HE
- New JISC Legal Publications
- Upcoming JISC Legal Events
For up to the minute news, our full range of publications, our events diary and our three-day turnaround legal enquiry service, visit our website at www.jisclegal.ac.uk. Details of what's on offer from JISC Advance can be found at:http://www.jiscadvance.ac.uk/.
News
12 Million Reasons to Avoid Software Copyright Infringement
The European Commission, by contracting other companies to work on copyright-protected software, was found liable for copyright infringement to the tune of 12 million euros. The EC sought contractors to carry out improvement work on software previously provided by Systrans, in breach of that company's intellectual property rights. Colleges and universities should be careful that the terms and conditions of the procurement of software allows for any adaptation they wish to make in future, and whether such adaptation can be outsourced if desired. For more information on this case, visit the Out-Law website at http://www.out-law.com/page-11674, and for more information on procurement in general, visit our fellow JISC Advance service, Procureweb, at http://www.procureweb.com/.
Courting Copyright - A More Litigious World Ahead
From October 2010, the Patents County Court has been able to hear copyright infringement claims under a quicker, cheaper, simplified procedure. Although a good thing in general access to justice terms, this does mean that those claiming in copyright have a more attractive route to litigation, and already some cases light on merit have been heard before the court. Colleges and universities should note that whilst they will have an easier way to protect their own copyright works, they may also be subject to court-based claims more frequently. It is therefore important to ensure effective procedures are in place to minimise the risks of infringement by college and university staff.
Intellectual Property Supporting Growth
The independent review, launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in November, into intellectual property and growth has called for evidence on how the IP system can best support growth. The review is designed to identify what, if anything, should be done to change the UK's IP system in the interests of promoting more rapid innovation and economic growth. The review team are seeking responses with economic data and related evidence as well as case studies. Details of the Review of Intellectual Property and Growth including the call for evidence are available on the Intellectual Property Office website at - http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview/ipreview-c4e.htm.
Awards Launched to Support Innovative Research
A competition, open to universities and other publicly funded research establishments, has been launched to improve research-intensive universities extract the maximum benefit from their intellectual property. The Intellectual Property Office is putting £500,000 prize money into the competition, which will help ensure the maximum possible benefit is created from taxpayer-funded research. The competition is open to projects that improve management of IP and knowledge exchange. Competition entries could include innovative partnerships with businesses, universities forming groups to share facilities or fresh methods for turning cutting-edge research into economic benefits. Further details on the Intellectual Property Office website at - http://www.ipo.gov.uk/whyuse/research/fastforward.htm.
FOI Public Interest Outweighs BBC Commercial Interests
The public interest test essentially facilitates accountability and transparency in the spending of public money and has to be applied even where the commercial interests of an institution such as the ability to successfully participate in a commercial activity are concerned. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ordered the disclosure of information relating to TV licensing contracts between the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Capita Business Services Ltd (Capita). The BBC originally rejected the request believing that the release of the information would prejudice the commercial interests of the corporation and its contractors. Whilst agreeing that the BBC was entitled to apply this exemption, the Commissioner decided that it was in the public’s interest for the information to be released and ordered full disclosure. Detailed guidance on how the Freedom of Information commercial interest exemption applies is available on the ICO website at -http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/awareness_guidance_5_-_commercial_interests.pdf. The ICO announcement of the BBC story is available on the ICO website at -http://www.ico.gov.uk/.
A Seasonal Reminder on Photographs and Data Protection in Your College
The Information Commissioner has issued a press release reminding colleges that taking photographs of students can be exempt from the Data Protection Act. Where photos are taken by family members solely for personal use, for example at a college Christmas production this will not normally present data protection issues. The press release is on the ICO website at www.ico.gov.uk/ and there is more detail in the ICO Data Protection Good Practice Note - Taking Photographs in Schools, available from the document library on their website.
BSI Publishes Web Accessibility Code of Practice BS8878
This code of practice published on 30 November aims to assist those in an organisation with responsibility for web products and for promoting and supporting equality and inclusion in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. It includes guidance on how to assess the impact the choice of technology may have on users, and guidance for considering their specific needs, for example people with learning disabilities or with physical impairments. The cost of the code is £100 but this is reduced to £50 for registered charities. More details on the content of the code is available from the BSI website at shop.bsigroup.com/
Newspaper Publishers’ Web Content Protected by Copyright Law - NLA v Meltwater
This significant case - NLA v Meltwater (Neutral Citation Number: [2010] EWHC 3099 (Ch)) confirms that copyright can subsist in a newspaper headline. It also confirms that a user that pays for a web monitoring service requires a licence from the newspaper or the NLA (the Newspaper Licensing Agency) in order to click on a link to an article on the newspaper’s website or to receive text extracts taken from an article. The judge had to consider whether the headlines that were reproduced could be literary works in their own right and whether by clicking on the link to the article without licence to do so a user was infringing copyright. The court held that Meltwater and the end users were all copying material belonging to the newspapers and that this copying was not subject to any of the exceptions contained in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA). Copyright infringement, therefore, was taking place if recipients did not have a licence. Since 1 Jan 2010 the NLA have provided a Web End-User Licence (WEUL) for this purpose. The full text of the judgment is available on the BAILII website at - http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2010/3099.html&query=newspaper+and+licensing+and+agency&method=boolean. Further commentary on the decision in available on the OUT-LAW website at - http://www.out-law.com/page-11601.
Formal Consultation on Amendments to Design Legislation
Your views are being sought on the remedies available in the UK for innocent infringement of UK registered designs and Community designs. The proposals are either to limit the liability of those who unintentionally infringe Community designs in line with the current law governing the infringement of UK registered designs, or alternatively to remove the limitation of liability in respect of unintentional infringement of UK registered designs. The consultation will be of particular interest to those at FE and HE institutions that are working in the areas of research and knowledge transfer. Further details of the consultation are available on the Intellectual Property Office website at - http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-policy/consult/consult-live/consult-2010-desleg.htm.
Publications
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We didn’t produce any new publications in the run up to Christmas, but we’d like to remind you of a couple of our recent productions.
JISC Legal's Tenth Anniversary Top Ten Tips (21/10/2010)
If you’re in need of inspiration for some new year’s resolutions, you might want to revisit our Top Ten Tips, launched for our tenth anniversary last October, anticipating the needs of the FE and HE sectors over the coming decade.
Events
Contact Us
For general enquiries, contact us on 0141 548 4939 or send us an email.
JISC Legal, University of Strathclyde, Alexander Turnbull Building, 155 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD
JISC Legal is hosted by the University of Strathclyde, a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC015263.
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