Silicon Roundabout start-up community urges government to amend IP and copyright laws

Prominent technology groups in the Silicon Roundabout area of London have urged the government to implement key proposals from the recent Hargreaves Review in order to help start-ups in the UK to thrive.

The signatories argue in an open letter that the review makes several key recommendations relating to copyright and intellectual property laws that those working in this sector have long demanded as vital for growth.

"Our organisations believe the Hargreaves report represents a watershed for this country's digital economy," the letter said.

"The report recognises - as many digital businesses and entrepreneurs have known for a long time - that the nation's intellectual property laws, and in particular copyright law, must adapt to business, social and technological change."

The group urged Whitehall to bring the proposals into law as quickly as possible, including a Digital Copyright Exchange to enable businesses to more easily disseminate and use copyrighted works.

"We call on government to put the straightforward recommendations on a fast track and ensure they become part of law quickly, preferably before the end of the year and in no event later than the end of the 2011-2012 parliamentary session," the letter read.

"[The government must] work diligently at an EU level and with relevant stakeholders to make the complex recommendations a reality in the shortest time possible."