§ 10. Mr. Baldryasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to curtail overseas piracy of books published in Britain; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Michael Howard)The 1068 Government take every opportunity they can to press upon countries where piracy of British books is permitted to flourish the need for comprehensive and enforceable copyright law. We are in contact with several such countries on this issue at the present time and the European Community is in the process of detailed consideration of the link between intellectual property and trade policy as part of the Community's preparation for a new GATT round.
§ Mr. BaldryI thank my hon. and learned Friend for his reply. The Governments of South Korea and Signapore are at present actively considering fresh copyright legislation. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that such legislation adequately protects the interests of British publishers?
§ Mr. HowardWe have recently written to the Government of Singapore suggesting some modifications to the first draft of the new copyright law that authorities have produced in that country. We are monitoring developments in South Korea and we shall make representations if it seems that that will be useful.