Yesterday the Intellectual Property Office published its proposals on
changing exceptions to copyright law:

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/response-2011-copyright-final.pdf

The intention is that the proposals will come into effect in October
2013 - until they do, copyright law remains as it is at present.

The proposals contain a number of really helpful things.  We can't yet
know for sure that these will all get through Parliament but it is
great to be starting from this position.

Here's a summary of some key proposals:

If the law allows something, contracts won't override it to make use
of something more restrictive than the law allows.

The provisions for licensing use of printed material in education will
continue - the CLA will still be licensing copying and scanning in
education.

The provisions for licensing use of broadcast material in education
will continue - the ERA will still be licensing the use of this
material in education.

It will be possible to copy sound recordings, films and broadcasts for
non-commercial research and private study (but this will probably be
quite strictly controlled).

Libraries and museums will be allowed to copy for preservation any
type of copyright work (there will probably still be restrictions on
how this preserved material can be used).

There is a significant improvement in the exceptions for education:
"a single noncommercial fair dealing exception for teaching, which
will permit the use of copyright works to the extent necessary by way
of illustration in order to teach about a subject. This, together with
the fair  dealing exception for quotation, will continue to permit the
uses currently permitted by Section 32 but will also permit other
similarly minor uses of materials protected by copyright which do not
conflict with their normal exploitation. It will allow, for example, a
teacher to copy and display a work by Picasso in an interactive
whiteboard presentation to a class of students studying 20th century
art; or to allow a university to make its past examination papers
(which contain quotes and extracts from third party works) available
to students on its university intranet.
The Government agrees that it does not make sense in the digital age
for these exceptions to be confined only to use made on the premises
of educational establishments, to the detriment of distance learners.
The Government will therefore ensure that the acts permitted under the
education exceptions are permitted to the same extent over secure
distance learning networks controlled by educational establishments as
they are permitted within those educational establishments."

Things look hopeful for a more sensible copyright regime in education.

Happy Christmas!

Katie Hambrook
Oxford Brookes University Library

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