Intellectual Property Bill [Lords]

Debate between Mike Weatherley and Gerry Sutcliffe

Monday 20th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Sutcliffe]

How soon I forget. My hon. Friend is right: Viscount Younger did come before the Select Committee, but the hon. Member for Wantage, who is also a Minister from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, also gave evidence to the Committee on IP rights.

The Committee’s report is worthy of being read by hon. Members who have not yet done so, given the impact that creativity can have on well-being, innovation, and the growth of potential new jobs. When the Committee went to America to look at the creative industries—a difficult job but somebody has to do it—we went to Google and to the film studios. I found it interesting to note the importance of tax credits to the film industry. Film tax credits are one thing I will congratulate the Government on, and moving those measures to high-end television and games will maintain our lead in such things.

[Mike Weatherley]

Does the hon. Gentleman support my call for the music industry to have a tax credit for A and R, perhaps above the 20% level that they would normally spend?

[Mr Sutcliffe]

I do. I know it is difficult when, in austere times, we are asking the Treasury to give more tax breaks, but I think it is a case of invest to save: if we do that for the music industry, we will get more back in the fruition and growth of that sector. I support what the hon. Gentleman proposes.

I think that Google has responsibilities and needs to consider the issue raised by BPI—I had forgotten that so many million requests have been made, and I do not think Google responded in anything like the way it needed to. I hope that with this debate, and with pressure from Ministers, we can put some pressure on Google to meet its requirements and responsibilities.

Clause 21 concerns the IPO report. I was grateful that the Minister said that Members would be able to consider all aspects of that report annually, though there are areas where things have not worked out as well as they could have. Returning to my former role as the Minister responsible for consumer affairs, I remember that on issues like trading standards, reports came from many areas of the country showing that things worked well in some places, but not in others. Enforcement is a big issue, and perhaps when we get the opportunity in Committee, we can look at the role of the IPO, trading standards, packaging, and some of the goods that mimic others. As a former sports Minister, I think particularly of the football industry where counterfeit football shirts and so on are produced. There is a tremendous cross-section of areas to consider, which is why it is important to have an IP tsar. We will want to consider clause 21 in greater detail, as well as clause 13 and the issue of criminalisation.