§ Mr. ButcherI beg to move amendment No. 51, in page 24, line 13, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
'(2) Copyright in a work is not infringed by the making of a sound recording, or the broadcasting or inclusion in a cable programme service, of a reading or recitation which by virtue 145 of subsection (1) does not infringe copyright in the work, provided that the recording, broadcast or cable programme consists mainly of material in relation to which it is necessary to rely on that subsection.'.The amendment is our response to the arguments of the hon. Member for Caenarfon (Mr. Wigley) in Committee. It ensures that those who record or broadcast live events, such as eisteddfodau, will not find themselves infringing copyright when unforeseeably—it is often unforeseeably—a speaker recites an extract from a literary or dramatic work without the consent of the copyright owner, placing reliance on clause 59. I am happy to give the hon. Gentleman credit for the amendment, which he richly deserves.
§ Mr. WigleyI thank the Minister for responding to the arguments that I advanced in Committee. I am not sure whether the broadcasting authorities in Wales, the governors of the three channels and those involved in the organisation of eisteddfodau fully understood the implications of the Bill when it first appeared in print. When they read the report of our proceedings in Committee, there was apoplexy.
The House will know—the hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Mr. Rowlands) will certainly be aware of this—that BBC Wales, S4C and HTV are much dependent on their capability to broadcast on radio and television the Eisteddfod Genwedlaethol Cymru—the National Eisteddfod of Wales—which will be held next week at Newport. Were they not able to broadcast without being in danger of breaching copyright, they would be extremely concerned. The same applies with Eisteddfod Genwedlaethol Urdd Gobaith Cymru—the Welsh League of Youth eisteddfod—which took place in Merthyr Tydfil last year. The hon. Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney and his wife Janice, worked extremely hard for its success. That, too, would have been in trouble had it not been for the amendment. The same goes for the international eisteddfod. For all these reasons, I welcome the amendment. I congratulate the Minister on his change of post and say that, following the amendment, there will still be a welcome for him at Aberdaron this summer.
§ Amendment agreed to.