| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
4.57 p.m.
Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde: My Lords, I should start by declaring an interest. I am the unpaid referee for the Musicians' Union on disputes between individual members and the executive of that union. My predecessor was the noble Lord, Lord Goodman.
The statutory instrument implements directives 92/100, 93/83 and 93/98. I shall concentrate on Directive 92/100 and deal with the rights of performers and with the possible impact on our free lending libraries.
There is no doubt that the present instrument is an improvement on the draft of February 1995, but I believe that it will still not implement the directive in its broadest basis and as was intended. British performers and their unions, the British Actors' Equity, the Northern Ireland Musicians' Association and the Musicians' Union, are all concerned that it will still leave UK performers in an inferior position to that of their counterparts in the European Union.
Paragraph(ii) of Article 8.2 of the directive,
- "ensures that the remuneration is shared between the relevant performer and phonogram producers".
The statutory instrument does not fully meet that intention nor the other part of the directive which refers to a,
- "single equitable remuneration as between the producer [record company] and the performer".
I suggest that, as presently worded, the instrument does not give the right to the performer to negotiate an equitable remuneration or to go to the copyright tribunal. I understand that UK performers will be the only ones covered by the directive who will be in this disadvantaged position simply because of the way the instrument is worded. Perhaps I can ask the Minister, on top of all the questions already put to him in this short debate, if it was the intention of the Government when they drafted the instrument to leave UK performers in this disadvantaged position. If that was their intention, why?
The provisions as worded will present real problems for UK performers in obtaining payments due to them from other countries. This is not new, but the directive provided the opportunity to rectify an unfair and one-sided anomaly which has put UK performers at a disadvantage compared to performers in other European countries.
Since 1961 there has been, under the Rome Convention, provision for performers to receive payment by legal right. Of all the EU countries, only the UK and Ireland have interpreted the convention as meaning that those rights are with record producers and not shared by performers.
The Minister may say that the legal right remains, and surely it does, but 30 years' experience has shown that it can only be realised through international agreements
between performers' collecting societies operating on a compatible basis. The UK does not provide this compatible basis and the instrument before us does nothing to assist or to rectify the anomaly. I ask the Minister to comment on this view and to say why the Government have chosen yet again to allow UK performers to be at a disadvantage compared with their European counterparts whose governments have in all cases without exception recognised performers' rights and interpreted the law and indeed this directive accordingly. Indeed, in all other countries except Germany it appears in provisions that the sharing will be on a 50:50--in other words, equitable--basis. Indeed, in Germany the share of performers is higher than 50 per cent.My second point relates to our free lending libraries. It is not incompatible with the remarks I made with regard to performers. Again, my main concern is with sound recordings but also video, CD-ROM, computer software and all the other new technology developments we are seeing. I gather that books are not affected by this instrument because the 1964 legislation, requiring libraries to lend books free, is backed up by the public lending rights scheme, which is funded by the Government and comes under the Department of National Heritage.
As we all know, today's libraries are not simply about books. They have not been so for a number of years. With the developing technologies and different forms of obtaining information, of learning and of entertainment, libraries have had to change to meet those developments and they have done so.
Libraries are in a different position from commercial interests. We all recognise that. I ask the Minister to clarify the position for libraries. I am sure that, like this side of the House, the Government would not wish to do anything which would damage the ability of libraries to serve their local communities or indeed to reduce access to members of the public who might otherwise not have any access at all to the kind of services that libraries provide. Have the Government considered that point? If so, what is the outcome of their consideration in regard to the impact of the instrument on libraries? Will the Minister also indicate whether the Government are considering an extension of the public lending rights scheme. If not, what practical solutions do they suggest to the position that may result from this instrument being put on the statute book?
This is a small instrument but it is extremely important; hence, the number of speakers in today's short debate. I know that the Minister has had many questions. I should be satisfied if the answers to some of my questions were given in writing if it is not possible to reply to all of them today, but certainly I should like to have answers.
5.2 p.m.
Baroness David: My Lords, these regulations, which implement EU Directive 92/100, directly affect public library lending. I want to draw the attention of your Lordships to the implications of that. My noble friend Lady Dean has said a certain amount about it already.
An exclusive right is to be given to authors, performers and producers of sound and video recordings and films to authorise or prohibit rental and lending of their programmes. That exclusive right may be waived in respect of lending by public libraries, provided that authors and performers obtain a remuneration. Member states are allowed to determine the remuneration in the light of their cultural objectives.
I want to explain how the regulations will affect public libraries. Lending books by public libraries will not be affected. In the UK, public libraries are obliged to lend books free to their users under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964, as my noble friend said. That is in England and Wales. There is similar legislation for Northern Ireland and Scotland. Authors are paid for the loan of their books by public libraries in the UK under the PLR scheme funded by the Government via the Department of National Heritage. However, public libraries would either be prevented from lending other materials, such as maps, printed music, sound and video recordings, CD-ROMs and computer software, etc., or authorised to lend them in return for a payment to the authors.
It appears that the Government do not intend to extend the PLR to those materials. Therefore, public libraries will have either to confine themselves to lending a more restricted range of materials, depriving the public of things that they clearly want, or to pay the authors/producers from an already diminishing budget remuneration for the loan of such items.
The new regulations will not affect the lending of materials by educational establishment and certain other libraries and archives, provided the lending service is not run for profit. The Minister explained that in his speech. The reason why public libraries lend sound and video recordings is that libraries exist to make information, ideas and works of imagination easily accessible to everyone. Lending books and other printed materials has been a traditional function of public libraries. Information is now published in a great variety of forms. Increasingly, some categories of material are published only in the newer media and in some cases a new medium complements the printed word. Some categories of library user--for example the visually impaired--find the new media much easier to use. Therefore, it is important that public libraries can stock and lend new forms of media as they develop, if they are to continue to give the good service which they already do to the public. Public libraries, in making them available, could also help develop the market for new media by acting as a showcase. They could also help people acquire the computer and searching skills necessary to access information--for example, information available in CD-ROM form.
In 1994-95 public libraries lent 555 million books and 33 million items of other media--sound and video recordings, etc. But 10 years ago public libraries lent approximately 644 million books and 15.5 million items of non-book media. So book lending has decreased while lending of other media has more than doubled.
The Library Association--I should perhaps declare an interest as a vice-president and long-time supporter--is concerned that the regulations will adversely affect public libraries. Some industries and some producers will mistakenly wish to prevent public libraries from lending their products; others will give permission to lend only on condition that they receive an additional remuneration; they may also wish to impose other restrictions such as a "holdback" or limits to the numbers of copies to be bought (a "holdback" would prevent libraries from displaying a new product until a specified time had elapsed after the release date); any additional remuneration will have to be borne out of already declining purchasing budgets; and the already complex procedures for negotiating licences and permissions will become more difficult and costly. The end result is likely to be fewer non-book media items available for loan through our public libraries.
Perhaps the Minister will answer one specific question. When a member of the public goes into a public library now and asks for the Oxford English Dictionary in order to look up a word, that is all right. Suppose that, under the new arrangements, rather than a book version of the Oxford English Dictionary, the data is on microfiche or CD-ROM. Will it be equally easy for the member of the public to get the information that is wanted in the new situation? I hope that the Minister will be able to give me an answer to that question.
The new regulations are very tightly drawn, so that it will be more difficult to make the necessary arrangements with the various firms and associations, and negotiations will be more difficult than they have been. The Library Association has been quite successful under the present arrangements in coming to agreements--for instance, for sound recording music with the British phonographic industry. These regulations may make it have to renegotiate and it may be quite difficult to come to arrangements as good as in the past.
So what can be done? We appreciate that there is very little likelihood of avoiding implementation of the EU directives. However, some clarification is needed from Ministers on how the legislation will work in practice and how remuneration to authors and performers will be paid for. For example, how feasible is it for every author on a CD-ROM to receive remuneration for public lending? How will public libraries find the money to pay the authors and producers?
The Library Association believes that the simplest solution would be for the Government to pay that remuneration under that existing Public Lending Right scheme. The administration is already in place and public libraries are used to being sampled for that purpose.
I hope the Minister understands the problems that public libraries and their users face and will help to find a solution. It seems to me that the PLR scheme, extended, would be the simplest way forward. I am a great supporter of public libraries. I am very anxious indeed that their lending should not be less and that the
public should be able to get as much out of them in the future as they have done in the past. They give an enormous amount of pleasure to a very great many people. The education side of learning about new media will be very helpful too. I hope for a good response from the Minister.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |