UK implementation of the Copyright in the Information Society Directive

Abstract On 31 October 2003 the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 1 (“the Regulations”), which implement EC Directive 2001/29/EC on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright in the Information Society (“the Directive”), came into force. They extensively, and yet further, amend the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“the Act”), the increasingly ragged patchwork of a statute which reflects the ravages wrought over the last decade on UK copyright law by the harmonisation programme of the European Commission in this area. This article reviews the UK's implementation and concludes that there is still work to be done at Community level.