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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, we agree that the definition of "copyright owner", while generally understood in other pieces of legislation, leads to some confusion when looking at these provisions. The first major question is responsibility. What sort of organisation will take on the responsibility for identifying possible copyright breaches and issuing infringement reports to ISPs? This is not just of concern to ISPs, although, as we have discussed, they must be able to rely on the accuracy and legitimacy of the reports arriving at their door; it is also important to copyright holders that their interests both as individuals and as a group are being attended to. The subscriber might also have some concern if it appeared that a separate organisation had been established in order to process infringement reports and lists. Data protection concerns become paramount, as does the possibility of a level of read-across between copyright owners that was not originally intended. I share with the noble Lord, Lord Maxton, an interest in the international element of the amendment. How does the Minister expect these provisions to operate in the international context? Many of the copyright holders will be from other countries, perhaps primarily the United States. How will compliance with the code, and indeed the extraction of costs, be enforced?