The Copyright Tribunal is a first-instance

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with jurisdiction over commercial licensing disputes. It was established by the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48), also known as the CDPA, is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 15 November 1988. It reformulates almost completely the statutory ba ...

. The tribunal’s jurisdiction covers the whole of the UK.

History

On 20 March 2008 the Innovation, Universities and Skills Committee published its Second Report of Session 2007–08, ‘The work and operation of the Copyright Tribunal C 245�� which sets out the tribunal responsibilities. In 2010 the Copyright Tribunal was listed as to be 'Abolished with Reservations' under the

2010 UK quango reforms Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the UK Government under the Cameron–Clegg coalition announced plans to curb public spending through the abolition of a large number of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quan ...

. However, as of July 2023 it is still active.

Functions

Its principal task is adjudicating disputes between collective licensing agencies (such as the Copyright Licensing Agency) and persons (natural or legal) who consider they have been unreasonably refused a licence or offered unreasonable terms. Collective management organisations have the authority to license copyright works and collect

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

on behalf of their members. They collect royalty payments and distribute the royalties to the copyright owners. The disputes the tribunal is asked to resolve usually relate to the

terms and conditions A contractual term is "any provision forming part of a contract". Each term gives rise to a contractual obligation, the breach of which may give rise to litigation. Not all terms are stated expressly and some terms carry less legal gravity as ...

of licences, or the refusal by a collective management organisation to provide a licence.

Proceedings

The tribunal does not sit often. Its last hearing was in 2021, and before that 2019. Parties are typically represented by legal advisors and counsel at hearings. However, legal representation is not a requirement, and the tribunal may permit other representation or, except in the case of a corporation or an unincorporated body, parties may present their own cases if they wish. Hearings of the tribunal are normally in public, and a transcript of the proceedings is usually taken.

People

Judiciary

The tribunal consists of a panel of 1 chairman and 2 deputy chairmen who are appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

. Up to 8 ordinary lay members are appointed by the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology. The current members are: * His Honour Judge Hacon, Chairman * Colleen Keck, Deputy Chairman * Andrew Clay, Deputy Chairman * Philip Eve * Manny Lewis * Michael Crewe * Mary Halton * Christine Jackson * Michael Kaltz * Ian Whitlock

Administration

The tribunal is administered by a secretary, who is a civil servant working in the Intellectual Property Office. However, the secretary plays no part in the decision making process and the tribunal carries out its work and comes to its decisions completely independently of the office or any other part of government. The secretary acts as a formal channel of communication for the tribunal and all correspondence should be addressed to the secretary.

Appeals

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

when dealing with a case in England and Wales * The

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

when dealing with a case in Scotland * The High Court of Northern Ireland when dealing with a case in Northern Ireland

References

{{Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Department for Science, Innovation and Technology United Kingdom copyright law United Kingdom tribunals