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Scottish MP wants term extension back on European Council agenda

By | Published on Friday 12 June 2009

A British MP has called on the current Czech Presidency of the European Union to put the good old copyright term extension debate onto the agenda for an upcoming meeting of the European Council.

As previously reported, the European Parliament has already voted in support of proposals to extend the copyright term enjoyed by sound recordings, probably to 70 years, but it is yet to be discussed by the European Council, the really powerful bit of the European institution that consists of representatives of the governments of each member state.

The whole issue was due to go to the Council previously, but stumbled at a meeting of COREPER, the committee of permanent representatives who prepare papers for the main body. It stumbled because some countries object to the idea of extending the copyright term at all, while others, including Britain, want a better deal for actual musicians in terms of their automatic share of any royalties that come in between 50 and 70 years. Backstage negotiations are ongoing in a bid to find enough consensus to move the issue onto the main European Council.

But yesterday Scottish Labour MP Michael Connarty said that he thought the issue should be passed straight onto the Council now, and called on the Czech Presidency of the body to put it on the agenda. He told the House Of Commons: “I just want the Czech Presidency to allow democracy to proceed in Europe and put copyright term back on the agenda. I raised this at the meeting of 27 Parliamentary representatives in Prague last month and the common view is that Ministers from Member States should have the opportunity to decide. The European Parliament has already voted, by a big majority, to support session musicians and others with the Term of Protection Directive. It is now time for the Council of Ministers to be given that opportunity in their meetings next week chaired by the Czech Presidency”.

Speaking for the government, Harriet Harman said she would make sure relevant UK ministers were made aware of the points Connarty raised.

As much much much previously reported, the record industry wants the sound recording copyright term extended from the current 50 years to 95 years, to bring it in line with the US. Moves are afoot at the European level to increase the term, though possibly only to 70 years, and only if political types are assured that musicians as well as record companies will benefit.

Many musicians, of course, don’t receive any cut of record sale income on recordings they were involved in, either because they were never contracted to get a share, or because their contractual cut is conditional on their record company recouping on its original investment, which in many cases they don’t. However, all musicians involved in a recording are automatically due a nominal cut of broadcast royalties oblivious of their contracts with record companies, studios or other artists.

Politicians want more such automatic royalty rights for musicians in the 50-70 year period of the copyright term; though the current proposals only allow for that on recordings that were made before the term extension itself, while British ministers want that to be a permanent arrangement. This, along with all out opposition to term extension from some governments, is behind the delay in moving the term extension debate in Europe forward.

As also previously reported, the UK record industry, recording royalties body PPL and the Musician’s Union support the European proposals as they currently stand, though the Featured Artists Coalition has said that UK ministers are right to insist on a better long term deal for musicians in the extra term period. In fact FAC have gone as far as to suggest ownership of recordings should revert to the artist oblivious of previous contracts once fifty years are up.



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