Driving UK Research report launched at Wellcome Trust

A collection of essays compiled by the British Library on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in the digital world was launched at the Wellcome Trust today. The report, titled Driving UK Research: Is copyright a help or a hindrance?looks at the UK’s existing intellectual property framework – reflecting the challenges researchers face on a daily basis and highlighting a consensus across all sectors on the need for reform to meet the demands of a modernising world.

The report consists of 13 one-page essays by individuals providing a “grassroots” view on copyright and its effect on research in the UK. These include Cambridge Professor of Intellectual Property Lionel Bently; Palestinian musician Reem Kelani; biophysicist Cameron Neylon; and Financial Times columnist and author Richard Donkin; to name a few, showing the breadth of research interest the British Library has brought together. These individuals take a lookat the barriers they encounter on a daily basis, providing feedback not only highlighting the obstructions to creativity but also putting forward proposals for reforming UK intellectual property legislation to reflect the needs of today’s researcher.

Dame Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library, introduced the report at the launch. “Underpinning research in the UK, the British Library presents this report on behalf of the research community, raising their thoughts and ideas on how to create a copyright system fit for the future. We hope it will provide a useful contribution to the debate.”

The launch was attended by Lord Clement-Jones, who spoke about the importance of addressing IPR and praised the efforts of the British Library in bringing attention to this area.