Report complete, on to Third Reading

As of 6:14pm on Monday night, the Digital Economy Bill has completed Report Stage. It is now bound for its final stage in the House of Lords, Third Reading, on Monday.

Debate in the House covered Clauses 31 to 42, and the Government agreed to consider in principle two amendments tabled by Viscount Bridgeman, Baroness Buscombe (Conservative) and Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat) to Clause 42, concerning the representation of creators by extended collective licensing bodies. As the Minister, Lord Young, said, “The Government have always intended that extended licensing schemes should be run by representative licensing bodies. We therefore agree to consider Amendments 155A and 155B and will bring our proposals to Third Reading.”

According to Cabinet Office Guidance, “The principal purposes of amendments on Third Reading are to clarify any remaining uncertainties, to improve the drafting and to enable the Government to fulfil undertakings given at earlier stages of the Bill. Amendments are restricted to technical points to tidy up the Bill. An issue which has been fully debated and voted on or negatived at a previous stage of a Bill may not be reopened by an amendment on Third Reading. Notice is required if any Member of the House wishes to move an amendment to leave out a clause or schedule on Third Reading, just as it is on Report.”

Finally, a new copy of the Bill as amended in Report has been made available, for those of you wishing to follow the latest changes to the Bill.

The future of copyright…and P2P

Peter Mandelson is appearing today at the C&binet event. His speech sets out the Government’s intention to put in place a fair and thorough process involving warnings to suspected illicit file sharers, and technical measures to back this up if needed – including account suspension. He also stresses that only persistent rule breakers would be affected.

This of course comes at the end of the consultation period.

Peter Mandelson’s speech acknowledges that the issue has invited strong reactions, and calls for a long term solution in which legislation and enforcement play their part alongside a market which allows consumers to find the deals they want. Education of consumers and new business models are, he argues, equally important.

Alongside proposals on filesharing, the Secretary of State is setting out the case for a modernised copyright regime to reflect the ways people want to use music which don’t damage the sustainability of the music industry, such as format shift and mash-ups. The © The Way Ahead strategy sets out proposals to simplify copyright laws across Europe and beyond.

Update: press release now here.