Educators ask for a better copyright
(January 2018)
COMMUNIA sent a joint letter to all MEPs working on copyright reform. The letter is an urgent request to improve the education exception in the proposal for a Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market. It is supported by LACA and 32 other organisations representing schools, libraries and non-formal education, and also individual educators and information specialists.
PSI Directive
(December 2017)
LACA responded to the European Commission’s public consultation on the review of the directive on the re-use of Public Sector Information.
Concern over access to library material for visually impaired people raised with Minister
(March 2017)
LACA has contacted the UK Minister responsible for intellectual property, Jo Johnson MP, with concerns that proposed changes to the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in Europe will hamper the ability of libraries to serve print disabled people and provide access to works. LACA has identified that proposed changes will mean that libraries face increased costs and bureaucracy when seeking to provide accessible format copies of books and other printed materials to people who are blind or partially sighted.
Because of a lack of accessible copies, people who are print disabled currently have access to just 7% of all books on the global market. The Marrakesh Treaty was adopted in 2013 to ensure that people with visual impairments have access to books in accessible formats. It contains two important proposals:
- The countries that ratify the treaty – including the UK – shall enshrine a copyright exception that facilitates the making of accessible works into their domestic copyright law.
- These countries must allow the import and export of print and digital accessible copies, including copies produced by libraries and other organisations classified under the Treaty as ‘Authorised Entities’.
In September last year, the European Commission proposed a Directive and a Regulation, implementing the Marrakesh Treaty into EU law. The Directive creates a mandatory exception harmonising Member States’ laws for the production of accessible format copies and the Regulation will apply directly in all Member States, permitting the cross-border exchange of works between Member States and other countries which are party to the Treaty. It is likely that the Directive and Regulation will be implemented before the UK leaves the EU.
LACA and 17 organisations representing visually impaired persons and the library and information sectors havecontacted Jo Johnson and MEPs Jane Collins, Sajjad Karim and Mary Honeyball in an open letter with concerns that some EU Member States, including the UK, are supporting changes to the draft Directive and Regulation that are not required under the Treaty and could seriously undermine its objectives.
Letter to the European Commission about ancillary rights
(September 2016)
LACA co-signed a letter calling upon the European Commission not to create new ancillary rights for publishers. LACA also signed the Save the Link petition.
Statement on Britain’s EU Referendum result
(June 2016)
Statement by Naomi Korn, Chair of LACA, about championing a fair and balanced copyright framework following the EU Referendum result.
Letter to the European copyright working group
(March 2015)
LACA is signatory to an open statement calling for a balanced representation of views in the European Parliament Working Group on Intellectual property Rights and Copyright Reform.
Consultation on the review of the EU copyright rules
(March 2014)
LACA responded to a public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules.
Copyright in Europe
(October 2013)
LACA responded to a consultation on the European copyright framework and areas relating to copyright that have been highlighted by the European Commission for further action.
Licences for Europe: text and data mining
(February 2013)
Text and data mining apply advanced computer analysis to uncover patterns and trends within data. If encouraged, we believe text and data mining will within a small number of years be an everyday tool used for the discovery of knowledge, and will create significant benefits for industry, citizens and governments.
LACA and CILIP supported a letter to the Commission that sets out concerns with a “Licences for Europe- A Stakeholder Dialogue” text and data mining for scientific research purposes workshop.
LACA 