EU Parliament: Extending copyright term for sound recordings? No thanks!

The European Parliament is being asked to nearly double the term of copyright afforded to sound recordings.

Industry lobbyists suggest that extending copyright term will help increase the welfare of performers and session musicians. Instead it will hand millions of euros over to the world’s four major record labels, money that will come direct from the pockets of European consumers. The majority (80%) of recording artists will receive between €0.50 - €26 a year.

Europe’s leading IP research centres have clearly shown the proposal does not do what it purports to do - help the poorest performers. It is simply a windfall for the owners of large back catalogues and the top earning performers. [25jan09]

Professor Bernt Hugenholtz, who advises the European Commission on intellectual property issues, has called it a deliberate attempt on behalf of the Commission to mislead Europe’s Parliament. If passed, the Term Extension Directive will have serious consequences for Europe’s IP policy.

* Any extension of copyright term will take money directly from consumers’ pockets. It will also consign a large part of Europe’s cultural heritage to a commercial vacuum.
* Europe’s leading IP research centres have clearly shown the proposal does not do what it purports to do - help the poorest performers. It is simply a windfall for the owners of large back catalogues and the top earning performers.
* The proposal will undermine public respect for copyright law and introduce an unworkable and unproven framework for copyright, at the very time when Europe’s copyright framework needs to be at its most robust.

The European Digital Rights association is asking any party involved to reject the Term Extension Directive.

Several organisations representing consumers, citizens and libraries around the world united to condemn copyright term extension in Europe. Last week the Opne Rights Groups sent a joint statement to MEPs who sit on the committees that will decide the flawed Term Extension Directive’s future.

A very informative and effective video is also available on YouTube.