§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his letter of 24 September, what was the result of his consultation with United Kingdom interested parties on World Intellectual Property Organisation documents; and if he will make a statement. [10856]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorOver 40 written submissions were received from UK copyright interests in response to my Department's consultation on the draft treaty texts for the diplomatic conference, which met in Geneva during December 1996 under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. In addition, an open consultation meeting, attended by about 50 organisations, was held at the end of October. The views expressed by interested parties contributed to the positions taken by the 711W UK delegation at the diplomatic conference, where consultation continued with non-governmental organisations present as observers.
The WIPO conference resulted in two new international treaties which will boost worldwide protection against unlawful copying and piracy, and promote the development of new media. Key UK objectives were achieved, notably the inclusion of provisions extending rights in the area of digital communications, and provisions making unlawful both unauthorised circumvention of copy-protection systems and unauthorised interference with electronic rights management systems.