EU Public Affairs Monitor - 31/12/08

Orphan works - a Sterling solution? 4 December 2008
"Over the years, few members of the IP fraternity can have won as many friends as Professor Adrian Sterling, a distinguished international copyright lawyer and a dedicated teacher of his craft. Adrian's legendary kindness, the IPKat notes, extends beyond his students and colleagues and reaches as far as orphans and their copyright works ... [at this point Merpel interjects: "silly Kat! It's orphan works, not works of orphans! We're talking about works that are metaphorically orphaned because their 'parentage', in terms of authorship or ownership, cannot be traced"]. "As I was saying", continues the IPKat, "Adrian has been working on a scheme for resolving the orphan work problem, which traps many otherwise exploitable works in a sort of commercial limbo". This scheme has been adopted by the British Copyright Council in its Response on the Green Paper on Copyright in the Knowledge Economy, and the paper will be circulated tomorrow at the 8th IBC Annual Conference on International Copyright Law.

As a special treat, readers of this weblog, whether orphans or sufficiently parented, can get a preview all of their own, which can be read here. If you'd like to have a look at it and tell Adrian and/or the IPKat what you think of it, please feel free to do so. Comments to the IPKat can be posted below. Emails to Adrian can be directed here." [IPKitten]

Web Radio Royalty Battle Takes New Turn December 31, 2008 Wednesday
“The battle over radio royalty rates will likely continue into 2009, with the latest issue tackling how and when cable, satellite, and Internet stations should report their playlists to copyright holders in order to determine payment.The Copyright Royalty Board, a government body that sets royalty rates, released a notice on Tuesday that suggests altering the reporting requirements for stations." [ContentAgenda]

New York state may begin taxing music downloads Dec 17th 2008
"New York, the state that brought us taxes on items bought over the internet is at it again. This time governor David Paterson is considering a 4% tax on music and other digital media downloads." [DownloadSquad]