A new campaign has been launched in a bid to prevent “potentially devastating changes” to the UK’s copyright laws.
It comes after the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched a consultation earlier this year seeking views on the future of the exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime.
The exhaustion of intellectual property rights is the law that governs parallel trade between two jurisdictions. ‘Exhaustion’ is defined as rights that cannot be used to stop the further distribution or resale of those goods.
Any business that moves, sells, or relies on goods – such as literature, automobile parts or cleaning products – that have already been first placed on the market in another territory will be affected by any potential changes to the rules.
And the Save Our Books campaign, launched by the Publishers Association, the Society of Authors, the Association of Authors’ Agents, and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society, warns that the new rules could result in “fewer books, by fewer authors, for fewer readers”.
According to the campaign, the proposed changes would threaten approximately two-thirds of authors’ incomes, destroy the creative export market – leading to a potential loss of up to 25 per cent of the UK publishing industry’s revenue, and damage the “already suffering” British high street.
Commenting on the consultation, Stephen Lotinga, Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, said the changes are “the biggest threat to our industry post-Brexit”.
“The strength of the UK’s copyright laws is key to ensuring authors and publishers are paid for their work,” he said.
“Weakening these laws would be devastating to authors’ income and the wider UK book industry, resulting in fewer books, by fewer authors, for fewer readers. It’s vital that everyone who values this country’s literary future calls on the government to Save Our Books.”
Prior to the end of the transition period, parallel goods were able to move freely in both directions between the UK and the European Economic Area (EEA).
But since 01 January 2021, the UK no longer participates in EU legislature and has reverted to the legal default.
The IPO warned businesses exporting protected goods from the UK to the EEA to check the new rules for parallel exporting to avoid infringing on other’s rights.
To access the consultation, please click here.
For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our intellectual property team today.