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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall endeavour to respond to the points made, first, in relation to Amendment 277 moved by the noble Lord, Lord Howard. The amendment seeks to include unpublished works in the extended licensing scheme. Including unpublished works would mean, for example, that anyone who has ever written anything could have their work included in an extended licensing scheme unless they opted out. This could put a burden of opting out on a large proportion of the population. It would also create a risk of the system collapsing under the weight of the opt-out notifications. For those reasons, unpublished works were excluded. I was interested in the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, on the central register and we will write to him on that. We will also write in relation to the period of notice and the licensing authority. My noble friend Lord Howie did not like our definition of an orphan work. He did not say that it was indeterminate, but he thought that it was too vague. We will look at a more precise definition. I may have here some inspiration from the Box, which might enable me to answer a few more questions. On the central registering body and the one-stop shop, the intention is that each authorised body will keep a register of orphan works which can be accessed by copyright owners. The point made by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, now has even more relevance. Perhaps we will come back to him on that. I have tried to answer all the points that have been raised. Perish the thought that we should ever be lulled either into a false sense of security or complacency. There is still some way to go. The sheer delights of Report stage loom ahead, which is why we welcome the comments that have been made. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Howard, will feel able not to move Amendment 277. Amendment 265A agreed. Amendments 266 to 268 not moved. Amendment 268A Moved by