Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening copyright provisions to help prevent the work of artists, performers and writers being copied and used on electronic devices without the permission of or remuneration to its creator.

With a few limited exceptions, it is a copyright infringement to copy and use creative works on electronic devices without the copyright owner’s permission. A range of civil, and in some cases criminal, remedies are available where an infringement has taken place. Many rightsholders take additional measures against infringement by applying technological protection measures to their works.

The Government takes copyright infringement seriously and the Intellectual Property Office supports activities to help copyright owners enforce their rights. These include awareness raising, coordinating industry action, and direct enforcement in conjunction with the police.

We have no current plans to review copyright protection in this area.