---

Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I apologise to the noble Lord for the use of the word "criminalise". "Civilise", which I suppose would be the equivalent, did not seem quite right in the circumstances. I am sure he knew what I meant. At the beginning of this part of the Bill, I ought to declare my interests. I earn most of my income outside this House from the sale of copyright material. So, I should naturally be on the side of the companies, but, perhaps instinctively, I am not. We should not forget that the main companies involved have methods of protecting their copyright that they have chosen not to use, namely digital rights management. It was there in music to begin with and now is not, which is not because they found it difficult to sell music that way. They are asking us to use a different way. It is not as if they are alone in the world without a friend or way of looking after their own interests. We should be conscious in what we are doing of the proper balance of things, because there are alternatives. We should also not put ourselves in a position where we are encouraging these industries to stay in the market positions that they are in at the moment. The market is changing fast. It is full of new opportunities. Yet these big companies are used to their old comfortable ways and seem to want to stick to them. The noble Lord used the example of films. I listened to people from a major film company the other day. They were surprised that, when they release a film in the States, suddenly copies start appearing here on the internet. The old practice of releasing a film six months ahead in the States and making us wait six months for it will not do. They have to move. They have to change. People love going to the cinema to see something like "Avatar". It is an extraordinary experience on a big screen. However, why do the companies not sell DVDs and allow the downloading of copies of the film at the same time? It would not reduce their cinema take; it is nothing like the same experience. It just gives people who would never go to the cinema the chance to see the film. These companies created the piracy problem. They are continuing to create it. We must not, in this Bill, give them the illusion that they can stay where they are and that beating up on their customers is the solution to all their problems.