Save Our Books campaign urges government to keep UK copyright exhaustion scheme

The Publishers Association (PA) has written to the new secretaries of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS) and business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) to urge them to continue with the UK’s current copyright exhaustion scheme. 

The PA, alongside its Save Our Books campaign partners, including the Association of Authors’ Agents, Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society and Society of Authors, want the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to stick to the current regime when it makes a final decision in March 2023.

The IPO consulted on changes to the UK’s copyright exhaustion regime last year, including considering a move to an international exhaustion regime. The Save Our Books campaign fought to retain the UK’s current regime, arguing that the proposed changes “would cause a projected loss of up to £2.2bn to the publishing industry, disincentivise the UK’s thriving book exports, and flood the UK with international copies of books tailored to other international audiences, typically American”.  

In January this year the government decided not to change copyright exhaustion laws for the time being following a consultation. The IPO said there was “not enough data available to understand the economic impact of any of the alternatives” following its consultation. However, it did not entirely rule out any changes.  

The Save Our Books campaign argues a move to an international exhaustion regime would harm the UK economy, disincentivise UK exports, and be detrimental to British readers. It argued that the current regime “underpins the UK’s £6.7bn publishing sector, including £3.8bn worth of exports, and is a key part of the UK’s wider £116bn creative industries”.

The open letter in full: 

Dear Secretary of State, 

Uphold UK copyright exhaustion to support UK readers, authors and publishers

Many congratulations on your appointment as Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. We are writing to you on behalf of all UK readers, authors and publishers to raise the pressing issue of copyright exhaustion. 

UK publishing is a global success story. Publishers and their authors together generate £6.7 billion for the economy, and we export more books than any other country. This success is built on the UK’s gold-standard copyright and intellectual property regime, of which copyright exhaustion is a crucial part. The UK’s current copyright exhaustion regime prevents the unauthorised parallel import of international copies of books to the UK, which safeguards the domestic market, motivates global exports and protects UK readers, authors and publishers.

As you may be aware, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) consulted on changes to the UK’s copyright exhaustion regime last year, including considering a move to an ‘international exhaustion regime’. The #SaveOurBooks campaign brought together a broad coalition of readers, authors, publishers and other creative industries in strong support of retaining the UK’s current regime. The campaign clearly evidenced that the proposed changes would cause a projected loss of up to £2.2 billion to the publishing industry, disincentivise the UK’s thriving book exports, and flood the UK with international copies of books tailored to other international audiences, typically American. We were delighted when the government concluded that the current well-functioning regime would be retained. The UK book sector breathed a huge collective sigh of relief.

However, the IPO has since announced its intention to make a final decision on copyright exhaustion by March 2023. We are writing to you to urge you to continue to maintain the current regime, which underpins the UK’s £6.7 billion publishing sector, including £3.8 billion worth of exports, and is a key part of the UK’s wider £116 billion creative industries. A move to an international exhaustion regime would harm the UK economy, disincentivise UK exports, and be detrimental to British readers.

The UK publishing sector and creative industries are global success stories. As the new government looks to turbocharge the economy and stimulate growth, we ask you to back a UK copyright regime that underpins one of the most dynamic parts of our economy, protects UK industry and exports, and promotes British culture globally. 

We look forward to hearing your decision and working together on the ongoing international success of the UK creative industries. A copy of this letter has also been sent to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Yours sincerely, 

Catherine Clarke

President, Association of Authors’ Agents 

Dan Conway

Chief Executive, Publishers Association 

Barbara Ann Hayes

Deputy Chief Executive, Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society 

Nicola Solomon

Chief Executive, Society of Authors