Legal issues for information professionals VIII: understanding the recent changes to the law

This article considers the recent changes in UK copyright law and the implications of them for information professionals. It sets the background to why these changes have come about. The most important changes are those on database rights and those resulting from the EU Directive on copyright in the information society. The latter has imposed new rules regarding so-called Technical Protection Systems, Rights Management Information and copyright for commercial research purposes. Suggestions are made for what will qualify as commercial copying or what will not. The article concludes with some thoughts on the management of risk in the current environment.