COPYRIGHT BILL (Date of enactment)

Dr Arthur Beng Kian Lam asked the Minister for Law whether he expects the Copyright Bill to become law before the end of 1986.

The Second Minister for Law (Prof. S. Jayakumar) (for the Minister for Law): Mr Speaker, Sir, it was the Government's intention that the Copyright Bill should be enacted as law before the end of 1986. This intention was publicly announced both in Singapore and abroad. An undertaking to this effect had also been given to the United States Government when the Prime Minister met the US Secretary of State Mr George Shultz in Singapore in June this year.

However, for several reasons, the Select Committee has taken longer than expected to complete its work. First, it received 34 written representations, which I am told, is the largest number that any Select Com- mittee has received in our Parliament's history. These were from a wide range of organizations and individuals in Singapore and abroad representing copyright owners and users of copyright materials, and included representations from the United States Government and United Kingdom Government. Fourteen representors comprising a cross-section of the representations were invited for oral representation before the Select Committee. They included representatives of both local interests and American and British interests.

Secondly, Sir, the representations proposed major amendments to the Bill. In view of the complexity of the Bill, the Select Committee needed time to make a careful study of both the legal and policy implications of these proposals. Furthermore, the Select Committee had also to arrange its meetings to accommodate the requests of representatives coming from abroad.

I am glad to say that the Select Committee has now completed hearings of all the representors who were invited. It will finalize its work on December 15th and its report to Parliament should therefore be ready shortly thereafter. The Bill should therefore be enacted as law in January 1987.