§ 60. Commander BELLAIRSasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the German Government has issued an extensive summary and an index of the six volumes issued by the Committee on Industry and Trade; if any Reports involving the Government in considerable expense are copyright; whether he is aware that the British charts of the world, surveyed at great expense to the nation, are reprinted in a similar way in other countries, though fully available for sale here; and whether the whole question with be considered?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI am informed that the German Government has now issued translations of the introductions to the volumes issued by the Committee on Industry and Trade. The necessary permission for this was granted by the Stationery Office, and a royalty has been paid. With regard to the second part of the question, the copyright in all Government publications is vested in the Controller of His Majesty's Stationery Office. With regard to the last part of the question, there is an international understanding that any country is at liberty to reproduce the charts of any other country, provided that full acknowledgment of the origin of the chart is made on the reproduced copy. This understanding was formally ratified by the International Hydrographic Conference of London in 1920.