Intellectual Property Minister Baroness Wilcox has welcomed the appointment of Colin Birss QC as Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal.
The Lord Chancellor Ken Clarke made the appointment, which takes effect from 5 October 2010. Mr Birss had been Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal since 2009.
Baroness Wilcox said:
I am delighted with the appointment of Mr Birss as Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal. He will bring his extensive experience as a QC specialising in intellectual property to the important work of the Copyright Tribunal.
The Lord Chancellor also made Mr Birss a Judge in the Patents County Court, which is a specialist county court dealing with intellectual property. The retiring Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal, Judge Fysh, also held the both positions.
Notes to editors
The Copyright Tribunal is an independent tribunal established under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988. Its primary purpose is to resolve disputes between collecting or licensing societies and users on the terms and conditions of licences, or on the refusal by licensing societies to provide licences.
Depending on the circumstances, users or their representative bodies can refer licences and licensing schemes to the Tribunal, where they disagree with a collecting society over the terms of the licence.
For more information please contact Intellectual Property Office press officer Paul Conroy on 020 7215 5303.
