§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, in the light of the statement of the European Commission that it does not expect to publish its memorandum on harmonisation of copyright before the second half of 1984, he has any plans to bring forward reform of United Kingdom copyright law; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherThe Government would have preferred to see the memorandum. Nevertheless, they are committed to the reform of copyright legislation as soon as possible. Some difficult issues remain to be settled and will take time, but legislative proposals will not be delayed to await the memorandum, unless this is known to be imminent.