EU Public Affairs Monitor - 09/01/09

Keeping the coins in a jar by the door; Musicians, including a player on 'Eleanor Rigby,' are trying to extend European royalty payments. January 5, 2009
“Patrick Halling is fighting to keep the few cents he earns every time the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" airs on the radio.

The Beatles song was released in 1966 and under European Union law will enter the public domain in 2016, meaning Halling's violin-led string background on the song will lose its copyright protection and the royalties will end.” [ContentAgenda]

Change? Obama Brings RIAA Attorney Into Administration
“Barack Obama is furiously assembling his administration, part of an urgent, pre-inaugural preparation. Obama has been praised for quick team-building, though critics have accused the change-candidate of drawing heavily from former Clinton staffers. That includes the most recent group of Justice Department picks, a group that includes former RIAA counsel Tom Perrelli.

Perrelli, co-chair of the entertainment and new media division at Jenner & Block, is being named to an associate attorney general post at Justice. The Perrelli background was highlighted Wednesday by Declan McCullagh of C|Net, who contrasted the Perrelli pick to the ideologies of Obama supporters like Lawrence Lessig and Google chief executive Eric Schmidt. Perrelli was involved in a range of RIAA suits, including those aimed at prying subscriber information from ISPs like Verizon and Charter Communications.” [DigitalMusicNews]