§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what restrictions he plans to introduce on home taping; [83828]
(2) what plans he has to introduce a levy on (a) video cassettes, (b) video cassette recorders and (c) other audio recording products; and if he will make a statement. [83830]
§ Dr. HowellsThere are no plans to introduce levies in the United Kingdom on blank tapes, other recording media or recording equipment, nor do we have any plans to restrict the "time-shifting" exception in UK copyright law which allows home recording of broadcasts to enable viewing or listening at a more convenient time.
An amendment proposed by the European Parliament to the draft EU Directive on copyright and related rights in the information society would require that right owners receive "fair compensation" where exceptions to rights are provided in national law permitting private copying of protected material on audio or audiovisual recording media. However, we do not consider that a levy or other form of payment would be justified in relation to the UK's limited "time-shifting" exception. We are concerned that the overall approach to exception in the Directive is too prescriptive and we will continue to press for more flexibility for member states in this area.