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Copyright term extension for sound recordings

On Monday, 23 March 2009, the European Parliament (EP) was supposed to vote on a Directive extending the term of copyright for sound recordings from 50 to 95 (or 70) years. The vote has now been postponed until the end of April 2009.

The Directive was proposed by Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevey, against the recommendations of two independent studies on this issue by the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information (CIPIL) and by the Amsterdam Institute for Information Law for the European Commission (DG Internal Market).

Since artist incomes are primarily regulated by contracts and not copyright, the majority of performers will not benefit from the extensions of rights held by record companies. However the benefit would fall to those who need it least: top earning performers and the record industry. Moreover it will impede the creative work of musicians using existing recordings as raw material for new productions and by this seriously damage European innovation.

Extending the term of protection conflicts the interest of the public domain since it delays the moment from which these materials can be used freely. Copyright protection must last no longer than strictly necessary.

Audiovisual rights are not covered by the currently proposed Directive. However, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee also requested the European Commission to provide an impact assessment of the situation in the European audiovisual sector by January 2010, in order to see if the music proposal should be extended to this sector.

Deutsches Filminstitut – DIF e.V., Frankfurt, regards the proposed Directive as detrimental to the development of European culture and economy as well as to Europeana, the flagship project of the European Commission’s i2010 initiative.

Deutsches Filminstitut – DIF e. V. fully agrees with the petition of the European Academics: “We urge the European Parliament, and the governments of member states of the European Union, to consider carefully the independent evidence on copyright term extension, and reject the Directive in its proposed form.”

European Academics’ press release (11 March 2009) http://www.cippm.org.uk/downloads/Press%20Release%20Copyright%20Extension.pdf

Independent Studies on Copyright Term Extension
http://www.cippm.org.uk/downloads/Studies_and_Signatories.pdf