Parliament's Innovation, Universities And Skills Select Committee, because there is such a thing, last week called for reform of the UK Copyright Tribunal, the legal body which gets involved when owners and licensees of copyright content can't agree on royalty cuts and payments. The nature of the Tribunal was being discussed after the Music Business Forum told the government's recent(ish) Gowers Review on intellectual property that it thought the country's ultimate copyright court was "antiquated" and "in urgent need of reform".
Among the concerns raised by the select committee last week were that the Tribunal was led by an unpaid judge assisted by a relatively lowly paid barrister and two untrained lay assessors. Given the increasing complexity of copyright issues in this here digital age, the committee suggested a paid Tribunal chief, and called for more expertise among those who offer independent advice to that chief. The review also suggested an easier to use fast-track service for copyright disputes involving smaller parties - say a pub or café - which would give them better access to the Tribunal in their royalty disputes.
The select committee urged the government to now act quickly on both its recommendations, and on recommendations put forward by the UK Intellectual Property Office's review of the Tribunal, which was undertaken last year. It remains to be seen if they do.