Welcome to our first Publishing eBulletin for the year where we will update you on the news and events of the last few months of 2011 and forecast some important issues for the industry in 2012. In this bulletin, we look at:

News

• The big ideas presented at last month's Futurebook conference
• New developments in the competition investigations into the agency model
• The ruling in Proactive Sports Management Ltd v Rooney and what it can tell us about agents' commission after termination
• The case of Hodgson & Another v Isaac & Another concerning infringement of the copyright in a book by a film script adaptation
• The CJEU decision on newspapers' use of copyright in photographs in Eva-Maria Painer v Standard Verlags GmbH & Others
• The Advocate General opinion in the SAS computer software case and its relevance to "non-literal" copying

Looking Ahead

• Changes in Data Protection laws
• How you can contribute to the government's consultation on copyright law
• Getting ready for the 2012 London Book Fair

To read any of the articles, please click on the underlined headings below.

The annual conference declared 2012 the year of the ebook with positive predictions for publishers willing to engage directly with consumers and experiment with format, pricing and distribution models. Here are some of the Big Ideas from the day.

Despite the UK closing its investigation, enquiries press on in Europe and the USA.

The use of specific incidents in a film adaptation of Hodgson's autobiography did amount to the reproduction of a substantial part of the original work.

The Advocate General delivers his opinion on the computer software case.

Of interest to any company operating in digital media, 2012 will also be a big year in data protection, with penalties for non-compliance with legislation concerning usage of information services such as cookies coming into force in May.

The EU's new Data Protection laws are also scheduled to be released shortly. Please email Adam Mitton if you would like to be updated on these developments.

The pace of change affecting UK and EU copyright law shows no sign of abating in 2012. The UK government has launched a consultation on some potentially important changes, in particular to exceptions to copyright and to fair dealing laws.

To stay up to date with the topics in this eBulletin and other issues that affect the publishing industry, subscribe to our blog Publishing Law Now.