Search engines and rights holders near deal on code to combat online copyright infringement

Baroness Buscombe told the House of Lords earlier this week that officials from the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) have facilitated talks between search engines and creative industry representatives on the detail of the code.

Some elements of the code have still "to be settled" but there is agreement "on the key content", Baroness Buscombe said. Final agreement can be expected to be reached "very soon", with the code due to be operational by 1 June this year, she said.

"The search engines involved in this work have been very co-operative, making changes to their algorithms and processes, but also working bilaterally with creative industry representatives to explore the options for new interventions, and how existing processes might be streamlined," Baroness Buscombe said.

"I understand that all parties are keen to finalise and sign up to the voluntary agreement, and so we believe there is no need to take a legislative power at this time. Surely it is better to act on a co-operative basis now, and start tackling this serious issue right away. If, however, a voluntary deal cannot be achieved, we will re-evaluate our options," she said.

Baroness Buscombe's comments were made during a debate in the House of Lords on proposed amendments to the Digital Economy Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament.