Extending copyright for sound recordings

Thomas stone
One of the biggest problems with this type of issue is the extent to which any changes to the copyright laws are actually enforceable. While the PPLi will collect money on behalf of musicians throughout this extended period, it is unlikely to affect loss of revenue through illegal downloading; an often cited cause for the decline in austerity within the music industry. Another important issue that none of the news sources touched upon is that the laws will be applied retroactively, so songs recorded in the 60s will benefit from the copyright extension. It also poses the problem that out of copyright work that is younger than 70 years old could go out of copyright and back into copyright again. In the time that the recordings are out of copyright, they could legitimately be used in ways that would become illegal when the new laws come into place in 2014; how the potential for illegitimacy that this poses will be affected is not discussedii. It also affects companies that based their model around copyright expiring in 50 years; record companies bought, and sold, the rights to exploit recordings based on the 50year rule. Neither the original article nor further research, gave any significant insight over the reasons for the difference between the terms of copyright for composition and performance. No argument is given against using conventions used in other types of intellectual property. Compared to the lifetime and 70 years of copyright afforded to authors and composersiii, the 70 years of copyright for sound recordings seems short. The news item also reiterates the assertion "a relatively small number of performers of successful older works". Many of the other newspapers I researched shared this view. Several news articles noted parallels between the law and Americas "works made for hire" classification of music recordings, which grants the rights to the record companies that hired artists and session musicians, not the musicians themselves. This notion is contradicted by the PPLs PR release for the copyright extension which stipulates Additional measures are
contained in the Directive to ensure that both featured artists and session musicians reap the benefit of a longer copyright term, including: a substantial new fund for session musicians from record company revenues in the extended term and a requirement for labels to make sure all recordings are commercially available, failing which the artist will be entitled to release their recordings themselves which shows a better financial care

Source
The original article that triggered the research was found on BBC News: Rock veterans win copyright fight BBC News (12 September 2011) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news /entertainment-arts14882146> accessed 15 September 2011

Main Points of the Article

On Monday, the EU Council voted to extend the copyright on sound recordings from 50 to 70 years.

Significant Issues
n Applying the law retroactively to existing recordings:
Using samples of out of copyright works Using recordings in advertising

Differences in copyrights:
Between performance and composition In the UK compared with other countries

for session musicians, and allows a greater degree of control to artists. The extension of copyright affects various areas of music publishing. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 lists Copying in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work means reproducing the work in any material form as a definition of copyright infringement. This means that arrangements and transcriptions of a performance are prohibited.

How will performers be affected:

The rights of session musicians compared with big artists

Extending copyright for sound recordings

Thomas Stone

Bibliography
Copyright extension is welcome, but it doesn't go far enough The Guardian (13 September 2011) <http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/sep/13/copyright-extension> accessed 15 September 2011 Copyright Term Successfully extended PPL (12 September 2011) < http://www.ppluk.com/en/News-Events/Latest-News/Copyright-term-successfully-extended/> accessed 15 September 2011 Hargreaves report recommends overhaul of copyright laws The Guardian (18 May 2011) <http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/may/18/hargreaves-report-recommends-overhaul-of-copyright-laws> accessed 15 September 2011 Rock veterans win copyright fight BBC News (12 September 2011) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainmentarts-14882146> accessed 15 September 2011 Will copyright extensions ever end? The Telegraph (13 September 2011) <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8759524/Will-copyright-extensions-ever-end.html> accessed 15 September 2011

Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights, as amended) (ECHR) art 7 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Part 1, Chapter 2, S 17(2)

The PPL collects money from broadcasters of music, including direct broadcasters such as radio stations and record companies, as well as users of auxiliary music such as advertising and television companies. It then distributes this to the performers that worked on the record. It is ii My assumption is that people who use the works in the period that they are out of copyright (such as in a YouTube video) will not be punished because of article 7 of the ECHR. iii The collection of royalties for composers is very different to the collection of royalties for performers, both in terms and other rights. The organization that handles this (PRS) is run in parallel to the PPL in a similar way, but exists as a distinct entity.
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Extending copyright for sound recordings

Thomas Stone