"The EU struggles to come up with an effective set-up for intellectual property rights. The EU constantly stresses the importance of promoting a knowledge-based economy. But one of the crucial components of a knowledge-based economy, as the European Commission and national governments have repeatedly acknowledged, is an effective set-up for protecting intellectual property rights. Without protection for intellectual property, runs the argument, inventors and innovators will take their talents elsewhere and businesses will not develop the new products, services and technologies needed if the EU is to be an area of innovation.
Holders of intellectual property rights need to be sure that the revenue from their brands and inventions is maximised and counterfeiting and piracy is adequately tackled both inside the Union and in the rest of the world." [EuropeanVoice]
Can the EU protect intellectual property? (I) by Karin Riis-Jørgensen MEP
"Europe needs modern solutions to tackle the problems that counterfeiters of digital and physical goods pose to intellectual property rights. There is no doubt that protection of intellectual property is and will be one of the major challenges for Europe in the future. In a global world we need to protect our property rights and trademarks. The growth of the counterfeiting industry is partly a consequence of globalisation, since more than half of the counterfeit goods that come to Europe are from China. But globalisation is also the reason why we need to protect our trademarks. For many companies, production is no longer profitable in Europe, but development is. And that is what we are good at in Europe and what we need to protect. If new designs and goods are copied as soon as they enter the market, development will no longer be profitable in Europe." [EuropeanVoice]
Can the EU protect intellectual property? (II) by Arlene McCarthy MEP
"Counterfeiting and piracy pose serious threats to business and governments, but also put European consumers at great risk. Global counterfeiting and piracy continues to rise. It accounts for some 7% of world trade and in 2007 European customs officers registered more than 43,000 cases of fake goods seized at the EU's external border, compared to 37,000 in 2006. An increase of almost 17%.
Legitimate business is damaged by the loss of sales haemorrhaging to counterfeit and pirated goods and services. Europe is a centre of excellence for promoting innovation and creative products. The creative media and business information sector alone is worth more than €350 billion, but counterfeiting and piracy rob entre-preneurs of vital resources for research and development investment in new innovative products and services, and undermine Europe's attempt to increase its competitiveness and create jobs." [EuropeanVoice]
Canadian Copyright Board Opens Hearing On Music Tariffs
"The Canadian Copyright Board kicked off a large-scale hearing today in Ottawa over arguments about multiple tariffs that cover everything from performing rights in songs to mechanical reproduction rights.
"It's sure to be a landmark hearing, if only because it's the first time that the board has combined all radio-related tariffs into a single proceeding," says David Basskin, president of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA).
The hearing will take more than a week and will hear debates over several tariffs, including those brought forward by the Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers of Canada for performing rights in songs, an application by CMRRA and Société professionnelle des auteurs et des compositeurs du Québec dealing with reproduction rights, the Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada and La Société de gestion collective de l'Union des artistes involving performing rights as well as the AVLA Audio-Video Licensing Agency and Quebec Collective Society for the Rights of Makers of Sound and Video Recordings." [Billboard]
Exclusive: Indies vs. Spain
In a desperate move to save jobs and preserve a hard-built cultural and commercial industry, a group of music companies and retailers are nearing a decision to file a legal action against the government of Spain, Music Confidential has learned. Executives believe the government is shirking its responsibility to protect the companies' intellectual property and commercial rights from Internet piracy.
Not only would this be the first lawsuit of its kind, but the twist is that it is not being led by multinational corporations. This move is driven by small- and medium-sized independent Spanish enterprises. Sources say that at least one other independent music group will also be monitoring their progress with an eye toward filing similar actions against the governments of other European Union member states. The governments of Germany and Italy may be next in line. [MusicConfidential]
Merlin honoured by Spanish government
"Indie global rights agency Merlin has been honoured at the International Forum on Digital Content (FICOD) in Madrid. Merlin board member Mark Kitcatt was presented with the award for Improving Competition For Independent Music Companies by Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Sr. D. Miguel Sebastian.
The award recognises the work that Merlin is doing to enhance the ability of independents to access the online space and to develop the digital market.
Merlin CEO Charles Caldas says, “We are delighted to have received this award and that the tremendous efficiency and global reach that Merlin provides those wishing to license the world’s most exciting and commercially valuable independent repertoire has been recognised.”" [MusicWeek]
Burnham to keep pressure on ISPs
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham has again signalled that the Government is in no mood for messing and will legislate should ISPs not make progress on piracy. Speaking at last night’s Squaring The Circle MusicTank, which was the final of four networking sessions examining alternatives to illegal file sharing, Burnham told industry executives that he is “determined to bring the issue to a conclusion”. He added that pressure will be kept on the ISPs to ensure progress with the ongoing Memorandum of Understanding does not slip.
Burnham told the networking group, which also featured contributions from Dan Klein, Detica media accounts director, Simon Persoff, Orange UK director, legal and regulatory and Richard Mollet, the BPI’s public affairs director, that the success of the MoU will be seen over a two to three year timescale and that the parties need to “find solutions which reward creators. It is in the public interest for there to be a workable system of copyright.”
He added that the creative industries and the internet are now mainstream, so the debate is changing and the need for government to have a role is becoming clearer – “the internet is not a place where governments can’t go”." [MusicWeek]
UK consumers, Big Content battle over three-strikes rules
"Although France's "graduated response" proceedings have attracted the most attention, the UK is in the midst of a consultation of its own on how to involve both content owners and ISPs in some sort of response to P2P file-sharing. The government is pushing a co-regulatory approach that would task industry groups with hashing out the details of such a plan, while the government would make sure that any agreement is fair, competitive, and preserves privacy. With all the responses now in, the UK music industry is clearly pleased that it won't have to pursue 6.5 million copyright infringers on its own. Digital rights groups are... less excited.
The entire consultation is helmed by BERR
ISPs sign voluntary code on speed
""BT, Virgin Media, Talk Talk and Tiscali are among a group of Internet Service Providers which have signed up to Ofcom’s new voluntary code of practice governing broadband speeds.
Ofcom had found a rising number of ISPs were selling their services by claiming faster and faster broadband speeds to download music, games and films. But, few customers were seeing the tangible benefits.
The regulator, therefore, asked ISPs to provide better and more realistic information and sign up to the code of practice on how they present broadband speeds.
The eight principles of the code cover areas such as training and information at point of sale to ensure that customers are aware that they might not get the maximum speed advertised because of technical or other factors. The code also ensures every ISP must have trustworthy systems to find the cause of a speed problem and take steps to fix any issue that is down to them." [MusicWeek]
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