CommsCopyright website to help UK firms understand copyright law

As the UK government pushes ahead with plans to update copyright law for the Internet age, a new website has launched to help brands get up-to-date information on intellectual property issues.

CommsCopyright.com is described as “a one-stop-shop to help businesses, content curators and communications professionals navigate the copyright minefield”. It will encourage visitors to share their experiences, to ‘ask the expert’ with questions relevant to their needs, and to contribute themselves by suggesting topics to cover.

The CommsCopyright panel of experts includes:

• Steve Kuncewicz, an intellectual property and media lawyer with a specialism in social media issues
• David Ashplant who specialises in corporate and commercial affairs and intellectual property, technology, e-commerce and IT
• James O’Flinn who specialises in advising on commercial disputes, including contracts and their resolution via negotiation/mediation/expert determination/arbitration and litigation, Intellectual Property
• Lilach Bullock who is a business owner, social media consultant, Internet mentor and founder of Socialable.co.uk
• Saskia Walzel who focuses on copyright exceptions, copyright licensing and proportionate copyright enforcement
• Emily Goodhand who specialises in delivering workshops on copyright, developing policies and advising on aspects of copyright and licensing. She particularly enjoys engaging with the law and providing appropriate guidance on a range of complex issues

The site will be overseen by Communicate Magazine, and sponsored by The PRCA and The Meltwater Group. It will be regularly updated with content discussing news and events in the copyright and IP arena.

“Our main objective for CommsCopyright was to provide an interactive online hub where up-to-date information and discussions about copyright law could be easily accessed, enabling clarity and increasing knowledge whilst illuminating the confusion that often looms over the industry,” said Jens-Petter Glittenberg, co-founder at Meltwater Group.

“Our hope is that beyond the communications industry, those from the legal sector and businesses of all kinds will learn from and interact with the hub. We firmly believe that CommsCopyright can become the go-to online resource for the latest copyright and intellectual property news and views.”

Following the publication of the Hargreaves Review in May 2011, the government has held a consultation on proposals to change the UK’s copyright system, with the aim of making copyright rules more flexible and better suited to today's needs. Decisions as a result of the consultation are soon to be announced.

Some of the proposals in the Hargreaves Review are already being implemented. Last month, for example, the UK Intellectual Property Office announced changes to the Fast Track patent application system, to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to apply for global patents.