2012 is set to be a busy year with celebrations for the Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee taking place. However, the IP and media world's focus will be on the following issues over the coming 12 months:
Ambush Marketing - The Olympic year has arrived and a number of businesses will be looking to take advantage of the Olympics in their advertising and marketing campaigns over the upcoming months. We will be keeping a close eye on how LOCOG deal with businesses that fall foul of the rules governing ambush marketing. For more information on ambush marketing see our blog here.
Changes to Copyright – A consultation paper has been issued regarding the Government's proposed changes to the UK's copyright system and a White Paper is expected to be published in the spring. The key proposals include;
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widening copyright exceptions to allow for limited private copying;
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widening the exception for non-commercial research and library archiving;
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introducing a new exception for parody and pastiche;
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introducing an orphan works scheme; and
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introducing a rights clearance system.
Read more about the consultation on our blog here.
Data Protection – The Information Commissioner's Office has indicated on its blog that 2012 will be a big year for data protection in the UK. In 2011 the ICO issued record fines for breaches of the DPA and it is anticipated that their tough stance for the protection of information rights will continue in 2012. In addition, the EU Commission is expected to announce their proposals for the future legal framework for data protection in a few weeks.
The Hargreaves Report – The Government has already begun implementing the recommendations contained in the Hargreaves Report with the copyright consultation. However, the Government's has indicated that 2012 should also see the publication of the following:
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a report on the progress of reducing patent thickets and the patent backlog faced by the IPO;
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a report on the development of proposals for a cross-border licensing framework;
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a progress report on the cross-government IP Crime Strategy.
The IPO's report gives further details on the next steps.
Digital Economy Act – Those aspects of the DEA relating to online copyright infringement, namely the obligations on ISPs to cut off repeat copyright infringers and the costs associated with regulating such infringement, continues to be delayed and debated. It is hoped that 2012 will see these aspects of the Act taken forward however a great deal depends on the outcome of Talk Talk and BT's appeal to the Court of Appeal following the High Court's rejection of their application for judicial review. The appeal is expected to come before the Court of Appeal later this month.
Privacy – 2011 saw super injunctions cause a public furore. The use of the super injunction by wealthy, high profile individuals to protect their indiscretions from becoming public knowledge caused a public backlash with social media sites such as Twitter being used to expose those behind the injunctions. The high profile public reaction saw the Government recommend that a Joint Committee be established to review and analyse the current privacy laws. The Committee is expected to publish its findings this year. It is thought that the super injunction will not be so popular in 2012.
Social Media – It is expected that the use of social media by businesses for marketing and communication purposes will continue to increase in 2012. A report recently commissioned by RBS revealed that 87% of mid to large sized UK companies intend to maintain or increase their social media spending in 2012. Social media is now seemingly generally accepted by the business community as a cost effective marketing platform which facilitates direct communication with customers. The fear of being left behind by competitors and the need to be innovative is likely to drive an increase in social media use by businesses this year.