Friday, September 9, 2011

Brussels paves the way for longer term of protection

Brussels paves the way for longer term of protection

The EU countries want to extend the validity of certain rights for sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. Thereafter, a report by the news agency dpa have agreed, according to the permanent representatives of EU Member States in Brussels on Wednesday - against the unanimous advice of copyright experts and opposition from civil liberties organizations. The written submission by the ambassadors to the EU ministers have agreed at a meeting next Monday.

This is to protect the currencies of the so-called related rights to sound recordings in the future any longer. Below the revert to the performance of a copyrighted work, but not the rights of authors or composers themselves in the music industry about the recordings of musical works involved: these include the contributions of participating in the recording artists and performers' rights for production, reproduction and publication .

For a song from 1962 so far were related rights in the coming year. Thereafter, the recording and interpretation of specific "public domain". That does not mean that the underlying composition may be used or reproduced without the copyright owner of the piece - usually the major labels, publishers - must be paid for it. The current copyright laws may still remain intact so: Who wants to reproduce the music piece or make the Internet accessible, it must continue to acquire copyright rights.

As early as 2008, the EU Commission had campaigned for an extension of the protection period to 95 years. It should be performers, who had ceded their rights to publishers or labels, get a recall law, they should not benefit from the extension. The European Parliament approved the extension in 2009, but only by 20 years. At the same time urged the parliamentarians to the performers to participate in the additional revenue generated by the extension. Axel Metzger, an expert in intellectual property law at the Institute of computer science at the University of Hannover, calls this a "partial success". After all, the Parliament has fulfilled its role as a controlling and preventing a wider extension than in the U.S..

Failed was the attempt, according to a dossier compiled by iRights.info been the resistance of some Member States in the EU Council. Then in early 2011 were Denmark and Portugal had changed sides and turned to the majority. Now everything should go very quickly after the vote of the Council of Ministers of the EU ambassadors would rubber-stamp the plan in the coming week. A new EU directive, members must then implement into national law. The relevant Department of Justice in Germany has not said anything so far on request.

Copyright experts are critical of the EU Commission have had plans in the spring, the very cause of the music industry. Heise "The 70 years have now decided, ultimately, a success of the music lobby," said Metzger against online. In the case of the music industry, it is mainly the "Big Four", which will earn a further extension of rights well. "It's about the catalogs of the 1960s," said Metzger - that works of Elvis Presley, the Beatles and other popular performers today. "The record companies are from their own archives on a respirator," said Metzger.

In a joint opinion on the Commission proposal of 2008 had noted experts criticized for intellectual property from various universities and research institutes, that the four major labels EMI, Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music were in possession of nearly all rights that are affected by term extension . 72 percent of the revenue from the rights went to the labels. Another 24 percent complete, therefore, the pockets of the top fifth of the established artists, while would share the remaining 80 percent of the remaining 4 percent of revenue.

The experts' conclusion: The point raised by the EU Commission and industry likes argument that the extension of protection periods serve the artists is normal, hot air. You can see by the arbitrary extension of the system undermine the credibility of the protection period. "The length of protection periods would correspond to rational standards," said Metzger - about the time it takes for a label to recoup its investment in a product. In addition, experts fear a "dampening effect" on creativity. The protection period, concerns about new works created with samples. The rights extended, remains the small sample passages from the plays of a licensed use.

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