John Whittingdale MP

From Orgwiki

John Whittingdale MP (Maldon and Chelmsford East) Conservative. Chairman, Culture, Media & Sport Committee Member, Liaison Committee. Vice-chair of the All-Party Intellectual Property Group. He is a patron of the Westminster eForum. A member of EURIM. Member of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee. Makes a point to respond to all letters that are sent to him and if he forwards it on and gets a response will read the response to check that it answers the constituents questions if it does not he is not afraid to chase after an answer. This is refreshing as many MPs do not do this. Describes him self as a libertarian.

Has a degree in economics. Used to work in Whitehall and the City. Having worked in the Conservative Research Department, he was appointed Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in 1984, serving three successive Secretaries of State until 1987. He then went to work at NM Rothschild Merchant Bank in the City before returning to Government work in 1989 when he was appointed Political Secretary to the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He continued in that role until Margaret Thatcher left office in 1990 and he was awarded the OBE in her resignation honours list.

Contents

[edit] Issues

[edit] Copyright

From comments made at the 2006 Conservative conference during a British Library fringe event. He is currently does not agree with the ORG view on Copyright.

Written answers Trade and Industry John Whittingdale Copyright (Sound Recording) 27 June 2005

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the Government's policy regarding the extension of copyright term for sound recording.

Alan Johnson

Any extension of the term of protection for sound recordings would require a change to the EC directive which harmonises copyright terms across the EU and there are currently no proposals for such an amendment to this directive. Those who have rights in sound recordings have, nevertheless, made representations to us for an increased term of protection and, in considering whether or not to support this, we will be assessing the impact on all stakeholders.

[edit] Term Extension

Tory party backs commercial IP rights Conservative spokesman John Whittingdale, chairman of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, says,

"All parties are now much more conscious of Intellectual Property issues."
"As our manufacturing industry was replaced by our service industry which is now going overseas, the focus is on the creative industries – music, electronic games etc - which we are extremely good at, but this requires a framework of law from government."
"He added, "We need to make sure people can get a reward for their efforts yet a large number of people do not understand why copyright matters. The survival of the creative industry depends on copyright."
"He disagreed with the British Library’s recommendation to keep the term of copyright for sound recording as it is and not extend it to 95 years, citing the rights of the musicians and music industry to protect their copyright.

[1]

[edit] DRM

Approves of the BBC using DRM to restrict access of some of its content to the UK as only UK license payers have paid for it. Thinks that people are paying to much for the BBC licence and any thing that can bring that price down is a good thing.


Culture, Media and Sport Committee New Media and the creative industries John Whittingdale "You said at the start you did not wish to have statutory control or regulation, DRM, but wanted the market essentially to allow it advance?"

Mr Howkins: Yes, we believe the industry itself is sufficiently aware of these systems to sort it out itself. We do not think there is a package or public regulatory constraints that can be moved across. The systems are not at that stage yet. We would prefer to write them out ourselves, and then if we get them wrong for someone to come along and say, "You are getting that wrong". We think at the moment we should be left alone to do it.

[edit] Internet Access

John Whittingdale 16 October 2006

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will take steps to make wireless access to the internet available in Portcullis House and the Palace of Westminster.

[edit] Rural Broadband Access

In favour of increase Rural Broadband Access.

[edit] Open Source Software

Signed Early Day Motion 179 Software in Schools 21 November 2006

That this House congratulates the Open University and other schools, colleges and universities for utilising free and open source software to deliver cost-effective educational benefit not just for their own institutions but also the wider community; and expresses concern that Becta and the Department for Education and Skills, through the use of outdated purchasing frameworks, are effectively denying schools the option of benefiting from both free and open source software and the value and experience small and medium ICT companies could bring to the schools market.

[edit] Links

[edit] News

2007-08-31 - The Times - Gangs and gun crime rekindle the debate on tighter internet regulation
Author: Dan Sabbagh
Summary: In the past fortnight MPs have queued up to criticise YouTube in an attempt to look tough on law and order, in response to the spate of gun crime. As a result, John Whittingdale, who chairs the Commons Culture Select Committee, is considering a public enquiry into the topic. "What we’re seeing is the emergence of this, and a whole series of undesirable things emerging from new media," Mr Whittingdale said. "There are also concerns about cyber-bullying and about the use by some Islamic fundamentalist groups of some pretty appalling websites." ... "I’m not sure there is currently the case for any statutory intervention," Mr Whittingdale said, "but we want to see Google and the internet service providers getting together and focusing on what might be done." An inquiry from Mr Whittingdale’s committee is likely in the next few months.
2007-05-16 - The Register - MPs cosy up with Sir Cliff on copyright term
Author: Chris Williams
Summary: Like Sir Cliff Richard, its biggest cheerleader and biggest embarrassment, the record industry campaign to extend copyright term on sound recordings refuses to die. A report released today by the Commons Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee attempts to torpedo the recommendations of last year's wide-ranging intellectual property report for the Treasury by Andrew Gowers, the former editor of the Financial Times. ... Releasing its counter arguments in "New Media and the Creative Industries", the select committee said Gowers had failed to give proper weight to the "moral right" of Sir Cliff to retain ownership of his 1958 performance on Move It. The committee is chaired by Conservative John Whittingdale, who has acted as a spokesman for record industry trade body the BPI in the past on its battle with digital music trends.
2006-10-12 - Blogzilla - Tory spouts nonsense on intellectual property
Author: Ian Brown
Summary: I had the misfortune last week to hear John Whittingdale spout five minutes of decade-old clichés about copyright infringement, ranging from the tired old comparison between filesharing and CD theft, to the "fact" that car boot sales are funding terrorism, and that Digital Rights Management tools are the answers to everyone's prayers. David Cameron had somehow caused me to expect better at this year's Conservative party conference.
2006-06-19 - The Independent - MY LIFE IN MEDIA: John Whittingdale
Author: Liz Thomas
Summary: A self-confessed libertarian, John Whittingdale, 46, cut his teeth as Margaret Thatcher's political secretary before becoming a Tory MP himself in 1992. Having spent time as shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, he now wields more power as chair of the culture and media select committee grilling MPs, executives and industry officials on topics ranging from the licence fee and digital switch-over to music piracy and the 2012 Olympics. He is married to Ancilla, and has two children, Henry and Alice.
2006-05-19 - UK Association of Online Publishers - DCMS debates digital copyright law, as AOP called to give evidence
Summary: The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, chaired by John Whittingdale MP, yesterday considered whether existing copyright law was adequate in the light of new digital technologies, and has invited AOP and PPA to submit evidence to the Committee.
2000-10-30 - The Register - UK e-biz minister shamed in report
Author: Tim Richardson
Summary: According to Tom Steinberg, the author of the article: "Miss Hewitt's website is not alone in the mildly comic ineptitude of its construction and flaccidity of its message. "The Tory ranks are also filled with the dead and the dying (Web pages that is), including the completely broken site of Shadow front bencher Eleanor Lang and the 1994-style efforts of John Whittingdale and Peter Luff."
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