Copyright Directive before European Parliament

12.00.00am GMT Wed 14th Feb 2001

"Copyright should protect the rights of copyright holders," say Liberal Democrats, "and not suffocate the Internet."

Commenting ahead of the European Parliament's vote on the Copyright Directive Diana Wallis MEP said:

"This must be the most over-lobbied piece of legislation ever to face the Parliament. MEPs e-mail systems and fax machines have been overloaded with messages from all sides."

Ms Wallis said the European Liberal Group intends to stick to a balanced approach which, for the UK, will respect existing arrangements allowing private copying for personal use plus exceptions for libraries and research institutions. Notwithstanding this, it also sends a message to organisations like Napster in that they will not be granted total freedom of operation on the Internet.

She continued:

"Unfortunately, there has been a fair amount of misconceived and mischievous lobbying which has attempted to confuse legitimate copying for personal use and research with piracy and counterfeiting. This is, of course, not something that we are about to condone or facilitate.

"The level of lobbying is a strong indication to our citizens of the important role the European Parliament holds in the legislative process. The Copyright Directive proves just this. It will not suffocate the development of the Internet and at the same time, authors and rights holders will be protected. In recognition of technological developments, Parliament is calling for a review in 18 months."