Mike Weatherley, Intellectual Property Adviser to the Prime Minister championed the new copyright legislation that came into force yesterday, October 1.
With the new legislative changes in place, people will now be able to legally make digital copies of music, films and eBooks for personal use.
The reforms cover education and news reporting to parody, caricature and pastiche, as well as archiving and Mike estimates it could contribute at least £500m to the UK economy over 10 years, and perhaps much more from reduced costs, increased competition and by making copyright works more valuable.
Mike said: “Most people would agree that is was a bit ridiculous that the law has been so slow to catch up with technology, so this is a positive step in the right direction. As I have said before, I do have reservations with research and parody exemptions, but otherwise this is a good update to Britain’s copyright laws.”
In a letter to Mike about the changes, John Alty, Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office wrote: “The Government, and the IPO in particular, has worked closely with individuals and organisations across the IP community to reach this point. There is still more work to do to implement the full package of reforms to which the Government Committed following the Hargreaves report , but I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution, and that of your colleagues, through this process.”