Report, Day 2

Last night the Bill had its second day in Report in the House of Lords. The Government’s amendments on Online Infringement of Copyright were well-received, and we were pleased to accept a number of improving amendments from others, including amendments to Clause 28 from Baroness Bonham-Carter and Lord Puttnam. In accepting these the Government makes clear that quality and impartiality are of primary importance in appointing providers of regional or local news.

The Government opposed an amendment put forward by Lord Clement Jones (Liberal Democrat) and Lord Howard (Conservative). However the House of Lords supported the amendment, the result of which was to replace clause 17 with provisions regarding “Preventing access to specified online locations for the prevention of copyright infringement”. The amendment passed by the House of Lords raises significant issues which will need to be addressed as the Bill progresses through Parliament.

Debate came to an effective end at 7.40pm, having reached Clause 30. We had hoped to make further progress, but business scheduled in the dinner-break ran on and sitting was adjourned before we could return to the debate.

We look forward to resuming the remaining clauses at our next day in Report on the 8th of March.

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.