§ Mr. Porterasked the Secretary of State for Trade when he now expects to be in a position to set out his proposals for a reform of the law in relation to copyright after his consultations on Cmnd. 8302, "Reform of the Law relating to Copyright, Design and Performers' Protection".
§ Dr. VaughanConsultation following publication of the Green Paper, Cmnd. 8302, last July, has not yet been completed. Upon completion, the Government will proceed to formulate legislative proposals as quickly as possible. However, the proposals will need to take into account European Community action in this field, in connection with which a memorandum is to be published by the Commission later this year. In these circumstances, I must now set a deadline for receipt of comments on the Green Paper and ask that they all be with my Department by the end of August so that we can negotiate in the Community with a full knowledge of the needs of the United Kingdom interests.