§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations he has made to the(a) European Commission and (b) European Parliament concerning the proposed EC copyright directive. [70113]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 9 February 1999]: The United Kingdom has made clear to all concerned our support for the main aims of the draft copyright Directive. However, we have expressed strong reservations on the over-prescriptive approach on exceptions to rights, many of which exceptions have little or no effect on the internal market. In particular, we remain firmly opposed to a general requirement to impose levies in return for all private copying exceptions, no matter how minor. The Government wish to maintain a fair and reasonable balance between the interests of rights holders and those of users of rights and intermediaries, including network operators and service providers. We have also called for clarification of the provision on technological protection measures, while supporting its general aim, and have welcomed the fact that liability of intermediaries is being considered as a horizontal issue in the draft electronic commerce Directive.
§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will take steps to ensure that the traditional interests of copyright holders are protected in the context of the electronic media under the proposed EC copyright directive. [70114]
§ Dr. Howells[holding answer 9 February 1999]: The Government are firmly committed to ensuring that copyright protection across the EU is at least as good as that already in UK law; strong intellectual property rights are fundamental to an innovative economy. Digital 228W technology allows data to be more easily disseminated and used or copied, and effective copyright protection for the electronic age is essential. Without the confidence that rights are properly protected worldwide, there would be no incentive for suppliers of information to make works available on-line and therefore no global information society. The Government believe the copyright Directive should prove to be of considerable benefit to UK rights holders in the context of Europe as whole, and we have broadly welcomed it. However, we will also continue to press for more flexibility for member states in the exceptions provisions of the Directive. Rights holders, users of rights and intermediaries are all key players in ensuring the success of the new services of the information age.