Digital Economy Bill: Clause 42
The MPA has been working with UK Music and also with colleagues at the Publishers Content Forum on a proposed amendment to Clause 42 of the Digital Economy Bill.
Clause 42 concerns orphan works and extended copyright licensing, respectively by way of amendment to the Copyright Act S116A for orphan works and S116B for extended copyright licensing.
The fundamental principle that the MPA has followed in both cases has been that the interests of rights holders and their collection societies must be respected and that any statutory derogation from the principle should require the approval of a majority of copyright owners and this should be clear on the face of the Bill.
The progress of the Bill can be followed on the Parliament website here.