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Select committee DEA review postponed

By | Published on Wednesday 8 December 2010

Parliament’s super groovy Culture Select Committee has confirmed it has postponed its planned review of the only slightly groovy Digital Economy Act pending the judicial review which will assess allegations made by BT and TalkTalk that the copyright section of said Act does not comply with various European laws.

The select committee had intended to review whether the DEA, rushed into law by the last government ahead of this year’s General Election, had been a “reasonable and sufficient response” to the challenges faced by cultural companies who are trying to protect their intellectual property against piracy online. But there’s not much point doing that while there’s even an outside chance judges might force a rethink of the relevant sections of the Act when the ISPs get there moment in court next year.

The judicial review is expected to happen before the end of next April, so it seems likely the select committee’s review of the legislation won’t now happen until late spring. A 5 Jan deadline for submissions to the committee as part of this review has been extended to 23 Mar.

But fans of reviews of copyright law need not worry, another review of IP systems in the UK – this one a more general review of the whole intellectual property framework instigated by the government’s IP Office – is still going ahead. The IP Office yesterday announced that Tom Loosemore and Professor David Gann have been added to the panel of experts who will have an input on that review.

You know, I worry this panel, which also includes Professor James Boyle, Roger Burt and Professor Mark Schankerman, is lacking in grooviness. I’m available if they’re looking for a groovy expert to address that issue. Actually, I’m not. I’m far too busy being groovy.



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