Search engines and creative industries anti-piracy agreement

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Dear Intellectual Property Office,

Your press release today states that:

"Representatives from the creative industries, leading UK search engines, and the IPO developed a Voluntary Code of Practice dedicated to the removal of links to infringing content from the first page of search results.

The Code agreed on 9 February 2017 will come into force immediately, and sets targets for reducing the visibility of infringing content in search results by 1 June 2017."

I would be obliged if you would please now provide a copy of this code of practice.

Yours faithfully,

TJ McIntyre

foi, Intellectual Property Office

4 Attachments

Dear TJ McIntyre,

 

Thank you for your email asking for information about today's IPO press
release.  Your request will be dealt with as soon as possible within 20
working days.

 

Regards,

 

Alison Smith | Information Rights Manager

Intellectual Property Office | Concept House | Cardiff Road | Newport |
South Wales | NP10 8QQ | [1]www.gov.uk/ipo

Tel: +44 (0)1633 814587 | Email: [2][Intellectual Property Office request email]

Making life better by supporting UK creativity and innovation

 

[3][IMG] [4][IMG] [5][IMG] 

  

 

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foi, Intellectual Property Office

5 Attachments

Dear Mr McIntyre,

 

Thank you for your email of 20 February 2017 in which you requested a copy
of the Voluntary Code of Practice on Search and Copyright, referred to in
the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) press release at:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/news/searc...
.

 

Some of the information within the Code is exempt under section 43(2) of
the Freedom of Information Act and is therefore being withheld, though we
are content to disclose a redacted version of the document, as attached.

 

Section 43 applies to information, the disclosure of which would or would
be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of another person, be it
an individual, a company or any other legal entity.  Disclosure of this
agreement in full would compromise its effectiveness in combatting
copyright piracy, resulting in the perpetuation of commercial detriment of
legitimate copyright holders.  In effect, disclosure of the exempt
information could assist persons intent on circumventing an agreed
anti-piracy measure.

 

The redacted information is also exempt under section 31(1)(a), which
relates to the prevention or detection of crime.  Disclosure of the
redacted information could compromise the effectiveness of the Code as a
measure to prevent or reduce the likelihood of copyright theft.     

 

The exemptions under sections 43 and 31 of the FOI Act are ‘qualified’
exemptions, which means that the IPO is required to consider whether the
balance of the public interest favours maintaining these exemptions or
disclosing the information in full.  Having considered this matter the IPO
has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption
outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information and has
decided therefore to withhold the information.

The redacted information is also exempt under section 41(1) of the FOI Act
because it was in part provided to the IPO in the course of confidential
negotiations.  The IPO therefore has an implicit obligation to respect
that confidentiality.

 

This is an absolute exemption which of itself does not require
consideration of the public interest.

 

We appreciate that this partial disclosure may be disappointing to you. If
you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request you have the right
to ask for an internal review.  Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months and you may request a review by emailing
[2][Intellectual Property Office request email]  .

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9
5AF.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Alison Smith | Information Rights Manager

Intellectual Property Office | Concept House | Cardiff Road | Newport |
South Wales | NP10 8QQ | [3]www.gov.uk/ipo

Tel: +44 (0)1633 814587 | Email: [4][Intellectual Property Office request email]

Making life better by supporting UK creativity and innovation

 

[5][IMG] [6][IMG] [7][IMG] 

  

 

 

 

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Dear Ms Smith

Thank you for this information.

Yours sincerely,

TJ McIntyre