I've just submitted a response to the Intellectual Property Office on their proposed amendments to the education exemptions to UK copyright law. These aim to extend the same permissions for distance learning as currently apply to the premises of an educational establishment.

Last year's Digital Economy Act 2010 created a power (s.17) for a court to order a service provider to prevent access to a "location on the Internet" if that location was being used, or likely to be used, to infringe copyright. That power has not been brought into force and last January Ofcom were asked to report to the Government on whether such blocking could be effective. In the past week there have been two, apparently contradictory, developments.

The latest judgment from the BT/Newzbin case sets out what BT will be required to do to prevent its users accessing the Newzbin2 website that an earlier case found to be breaching copyright.