Note: Make sure to review/read the realated links and update at the bottom of this post.

From a British Library News Release:

The British Library has welcomed the commitment to address orphan works legislation announced in today’s Digital Economy Bill. As one of the UK’s leading research institutions, the Library has long argued that educators and researchers will profit from the resolution of issues on orphan works, one of the biggest barriers to mass digitisation and hence important to digital Britain.

CEO of the British Library, Dame Lynne Brindley said: “The Library supports these proposals which confirm the importance of the creative sector to the UK economy. The Library believes that greater access to our increasingly digital collections will allow innovation, education and research to flourish even further within the knowledge economy.”

Dame Lynne continued: “Providing access to Orphan Works, which make up an estimated 40% of the Library’s in-copyright collection material will unlock vital content and enable mass digitisation of our cultural and academic heritage. Journalists, film and television producers, scholars, budding entrepreneurs, students and authors use our collections, generating societal, academic and economic value. Many more will now benefit by the removal of one of the biggest barriers to delivering online access to our rich content.”

Much More in the Complete Announcement

See Also: Access a Summary and Full Text of Bill & Other Info Re: Digital Economy Bill

See Also: British Library Welcomes Government’s Copyright Roadmap (ResourceShelf, October 30, 2009)

Post includes links to:

+ David Lammy’s Written Ministerial Statement, Copyright for the Digital Age

+ Full Text Report: © the way ahead: A copyright strategy for the digital age (53 pages; PDF) ||| News Release/Summary

UPDATE: A Pirate-Finder General for the UK? (via EFF)

UK Alert: Stop the Pirate-Finder General! (via EFF)

Lord Peter Mandelson, the UK’s First Secretary of State, has introduced a bill to grant himself (and future politicians) the power to re-write Britain’s core copyright legislation with almost no Parliamentary debate, using fast-track secondary legislation. If you’re in Britain, call your MP now, and tell him or her that no Secretary of State should be able to rewrite copyright law on a whim!

+ UK government talks up the digital economy (via The Inquirer)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 and is filed under Information Industry, Information Policy, Intellectual Property, Legal, Libraries and Librarianship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.