HL Deb 20 March 1997 vol 579 cc121-2WA
The Earl of Stockton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will review the workings of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to afford

Net maximum electricity generating capacity at 31 December 1995
Megawatts
A B D DK E F FIN GR I IRL L N P SV UK
Total net capacity1 17,440 14,916 116,909 11,144 45,994 107,619 14,427 8,942 65,921e 4,393 1,257 19,041 9,378 33,623 70,213
Nuclear — 5,632 22,834 — 7,068 58,515 2,310 — — — — 505 — 10,055 12,762
Hydro 11,306 1,403 8,876 9 16,784 24,987 2,777 2,523 19,844 517 1,140 37 4,469 16,152 4,236
Geothermal — — 167 — — 5e — 2 470 — — — 8 — —
Solar — — 535 — 5e — — — 15c — — 2 — — —
Tide, Wave, Ocean — — — — — 240 — — — — — — — — —
Wind — 4 1,136 619 115 3e — 27 21e 6 — 257 8 67 86
Other (Fuel Cells) — — — — — — — — 87 — — 45 — — —
Combustible Fuels 6,134 7,877 83,361 10,516 22,022 23,869 9,340 6,390 45,484 3,870 117 18,195 4,893 7,349 53,129
of which: single fuel fired:
Coal and Coal Products 583 — 36,604 132 10,303 4,201 54 4,215 19 928 — — 1,779 n/a 28,621
Liquid Fuels 246 518 5,621 1,593 7,952 9,505 943 2,111 18,641 888 — 13 2,857 n/a 8,417
Natural Gas 556 67 12,762 726 485 270 322 16 1,910 313 21 3,800 — n/a 9,367
Peat — — — — — — — — — 434 — — — n/a —
Other Combustibles 198 161 1,311 191 205 — — 48 149 — 6 — 2 n/a 318
young British creative television programmers the same protection as their competitors in other parts of the world against theft and plagiarism of their ideas.

Lord Fraser of Carmyllie

The Department of Trade and Industry has consulted interested parties on several occasions about the possibility of amending copyright law, as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, to give specific protection to a scheme or plan for a series of programmes. In the absence of any consensus among interested parties on the issue and in view of concerns about the anti-competitive effects of any changes, the Government decided that legislation in this area should not be introduced or supported. It is in any case widely believed that sufficiently elaborated schemes or plans for programmes will attract copyright protection without any legislative change. Other laws such as the laws of confidentiality and passing off may provide programme makers with protection against theft and plagiarism of their ideas, as can equivalent laws in other countries. Granting copyright protection to ideas as such would be contrary to the basic principles of copyright law in this and other countries, and no other countries have been identified which give specific protection to schemes or plans for programmes.