§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how his Department categorises computer programmes with respect to copyright.
§ Mr. LeighComputer programs are specified as a category of literary work by section 3 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (I) what procedures his Department intends to put in place to monitor and report on the effect of the EC draft directive on software copyright once it has been enacted;
(2) what levels of increased annual costs his Department assesses as acceptable, as a result of the draft EC directive on software copyright, in the sectors of (a) central Government, (b) local government, (c) retail, (d) banking and insurance, (e) manufacturing and (f) services;
(3) whether his Department has made any analysis of the potential costs to all public and private sector computer users of the draft EC directive on software copyright.
§ Mr. LeighA common position was agreed at the Internal Market Council in December on the draft directive on the legal protection of computer programs. We consider that the text as agreed will not result in substantial changes to existing United Kingdom copyright law and so will not impose any new costs on computer users or any need to introduce formal procedures to monitor the effects of any such changes.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the EC draft directive on software copyright would permit users to engage in the analysis of programs as necessary in order to maintain them.
§ Mr. LeighThe directive would allow users to engage in the analysis of programs and permit maintenance, although not upgrading, of computer programs, subject to certain conditions. The lawful acquirer of a program may do what is necessary for the use of the program, including error correction. He may also decompile the program to the extent necessary to achieve interoperability of an independently created program with other programs.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent he has assessed the European Community draft directive on software copyright specifies that interfaces and access protocols, as distinct from their implementation in specific programs, are not themselves properly monopolised under contract.
§ Mr. LeighThe text of the directive on which a common position was agreed in December specifies that
ideas and principles which underlie any element of a computer program, including those which underlie its interfaces, are not protected by copyright under this directive".28W The principle that copyright does not protect ideas, but only the expression of ideas, is inherent in our law and so this statement, which was included for avoidance of doubt, will not require implementation when the directive is finally adopted.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure the European Community Draft directive on software copyright gives adequate protection to United Kingdom companies which develop and market IBM-compatible PCs.
§ Mr. LeighThe directive will require member states to give a proper level of copyright protection to computer programs produced by United Kingdom companies. Those engaged in producing IBM compatible PCs will receive protection for their software on exactly the same basis as any other United Kingdom software producer. Moreover, article 6 of the directive will ensure that interoperability between computer programs can always be achieved, so that compatibility and the move to open systems is not obstructed.
§ Miss Emma NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the protection offered under the draft EC directive on software copyright to the computer suppliers proprietary architectures and on his assessment of the consequences in respect of impeding the development of open standards.
§ Mr. LeighThe directive will require member states to give copyright protection to computer programs as literary works. This is already the case in the United Kingdom. When the directive is implemented, the protection afforded will not change to any significant degree and so there is no reason to fear that the move to open systems will be impeded.