My Lords, it is fair to say that, as a Scotsman, I do not do Christmas presents after Christmas. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Lucas for initiating these amendments. Before I continue, I cannot yet confirm the dates for the extended Committee work, but we will make sure that noble Lords hear in good time.
The amendments aim to allow consumers to do more with copyright materials that they have already bought. Amendment 28A seeks to ensure that personal licenses to use copyright can be resold or passed on to another person. This would apply, for example, to those licences that accompany e-books or computer software. This is an important area and one of which the Government are keenly aware. However, the law in this area is still developing. The extent to which resale of licences is already allowed under European law is not yet clear. The cases that have been considered have dealt with specific limited circumstances. I note the comment from my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones who described the proposal as incredibly sweeping. Perhaps it is not surprising that I would say that there should be careful consideration before action is taken.
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Amendment 28B aims to ensure that someone who has bought a legal copy of a copyright work is able to reproduce it for their personal format-shifting and back-up. We understand that there is a need to modernise the law regarding private copying. This is why, as the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, mentioned, the Government have announced that they will permit private copying in certain circumstances, similar to those set out in this
amendment. This will align the law with what consumers expect and how businesses anticipate their products will be used. It will be welcomed by the public and cause little harm to copyright owners, and will be introduced in secondary legislation later this year. In light of this, I hope that the noble Lord will withdraw his amendment.