§ Lord Brainasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress was made during the British Presidency on the Commission's working programme in the field of copyrights and neighbouring rights (COM/584/90); and what is the current position on the projects listed in the annex for which directives or draft directives have not yet been issued.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)One of the directives envisaged in the Commission's working programme was adopted during the United Kingdom Presidency of the European Community, namely Directive 92/100/EEC of 19th November, concerning rental and lending rights and certain neighbouring rights. The UK also sought agreement at the December Internal Market Council on a draft directive dealing with copyright and neighbouring rights in the field of cable and satellite broadcasting, but a minority of member states resisted this. Regular discussions were held at Council working group level on a draft directive on the duration of copyright and neighbouring rights protection. The working group also heard a presentation by the Commission on a draft directive on the legal protection of databases.
The Commission has not formally notified member states of progress on the remaining legislative projects listed in the annex to its working programme (COM/584/90). However we understand the position to be as follows: the Commission apparently still intends to submit a draft directive on the home copying of sound and audio visual recordings, but is not yet in a position to do so. So far as the Government are aware, the Commission has not yet decided whether to bring forward proposals on moral rights, reprography and resale right, although hearings on these issues have already been held in Brussels. A study into collective management of the rights and collecting societies is in progress and its findings should be available later this year.
The Commission's working programme also outlined actions not requiring legislative proposals. In this context, a questionnaire has been circulated to interested parties by the Commission in connection with the planned inventory of the intellectual property situation in non-EC states. The Commission has also been working with member states on bilateral and multilateral agreements, such as the recent initiatives 68WA of the World Intellectual Property Organisation aimed at drawing up new international instruments on copyright and neighbouring rights.