§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Minister for Trade if he will introduce amending legislation to enable producers and distributors of pre-recorded video cassettes and video discs to require wholesalers not to supply to copyright-infringing third parties the products of which the producers and the distributors are the copyright owners.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982, c. 419–20]: In so far as it is possible to identify copyright-infringing third parties, it is, under existing contract law, open to producers and distributors of pre-recorded video cassettes and video discs to impose restraints upon wholesalers as to the supply of their copyright material to those parties.
§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Minister of Trade if he will publish in the Official Report the maximum first offence penalties for video counterfeiting in each member State of the European Community.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982, c. 419–20]: In general piracy of video tapes may involve both copyright infringement of the content and counterfeiting of the appearance. The latest information available to my Department on maximum first offence penalties for video copyright violations and counterfeiting offences in member states of the European Community is as follows:
Belgium: For copyright violations there is a maximum fine of 80,000 francs. For counterfeiting there may be up to 2 years imprisonment, with the same maximum fine.Denmark: For copyright, maximum imprisonment is for 3 months, plus a fine which depends on the offender's income and circumstances. There may also be compensation to the injured party. For counterfeiting, maximum imprisonment is for one year.France: Counterfeiting is not distinguished from other forms of piracy. The maximum fine for a first offender is 30,000 francs. Imprisonment may be for up to 2 years, and business establishments may be closed.Federal Republic of Germany: For copyright violations maximum imprisonment is for one year, with a maximum fine depending on the offender's income. Counterfeiting may be considered as fraud, subject to a fine and imprisonment up to 5 years.Greece: Copyright violations are subject to a maximum fine of 10,000 drachmas and up to 3 months imprisonment.Ireland: The maximum fine for first copyright offences is £5 per copy up to a maximum of £100 per transaction.Italy: For copyright violations the maximum fine is 20,000 lire, with possible imprisonment of up to one year. For counterfeiting maximum imprisonment is also one year.Luxembourg: For copyright offences the maximum fine is 20,000 francs. For counterfeiting the fine may be 200,000 francs, with imprisonment for up to 2 years.Netherlands: The maximum fine for making infringing copies is 25,000 guilders, with up to 6 months imprisonment. For knowingly dealing in pirate copies the maximum fine is 10,000 guilders.United Kingdom: For copyright offences, governed by the Copyright Act 1956, the maximum fine per infringing copy is £25 subject to a maximum per transaction of £50 (£200 under the current Criminal Justice Bill). Under the Criminal Justice Bill imprisonment of up to 2 months will be possible on first 14W conviction. For counterfeiting offences under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 there is no limit to the fine and up to 2 years imprisonment may also be imposed.
§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Minister for Trade (1) if, in view of the rise in the level of video and audio piracy, he will seek to introduce early legislation to increase the criminal law penalties for copyright infringement without prejudice to a later and more general reform of copyright law;
(2) if he will seek to raise the penalties for audio and video piracy in the United Kingdom to make them equivalent to those contained in the Piracy and Counterfeiting (Amendment) Act 1982 in the United States which provides penalties, including those for first-time offenders, of up to five years' imprisonment and/or fines of up to $250,000.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982 c. 419–20]: The Government are examining the adequacy of the remedies, both civil and criminal, which are available against copyright infringment including the question of whether there is a need to act in advance of more general copyright legislation.
§ Sir Paul Bryanasked the Minister for Trade if he will take steps to collect statistics on the incidence of video piracy; and if he will make an estimate of the scale of increase over the past year.
§ Mr. Sproat[pursuant to his reply, 15 July 1982 c. 419–20]: I consider that statistics of this sort are more appropriately collected by the trade interests concerned. In fact, earlier this year the British Videogram Association Ltd commissioned a survey which entailed an estimate of the extent of video piracy in the United Kingdom in 1981. My Department has so far seen only a very brief extract from the survey report, which indicates a figure of 78 per cent. for the pirate share of the video market for 1981.