EU Public Affairs Monitor - 21/11/08

Committee on Culture
"1. Presentation of the outcomes of the French Presidency on 2nd December: The French ministers will present the achievements of the French Presidency of the Council in the fields for which the Committee is responsible. The ministers' presentations will be followed by question and answer sessions with MEPs.

2. Term of protection of copyright and related rights: the draft opinion stresses the importance of implementing measures to ensure fair and consistent remuneration of performers. It will be adopted in Committee on 2 December. The draftsman is Christopher HEATON-HARRIS (EPP-ED, GB)"

A better return for our money: The EU wants the EIB to play a role in its response to the economic crisis – but it must make sure the EIB meets its existing responsibilities better
"The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's publicity-shy house bank, has shot to prominence in recent weeks as the global economic crisis has deepened. Nationally and collectively, EU leaders have scrambled to boost lending to small businesses that are being hit by the credit crunch. José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, has talked up the role the EIB could play in responding to the crisis; Günter Verheugen, the industry commissioner, wants the EIB to offer a €40 billion soft-loan package to the European car industry; and the UK's finance minister, Alistair Darling, has been pushing UK banks to make the most of the EIB's increased loans facility for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)." [EuropeanVoice]

U.K. Music Backs Government Proposal On ISPs
"U.K. Music, the recently formed umbrella organization encompassing the major British music-industry groups, has declared its support for a co-regulatory system between ISPS, the music industry and a government-appointed body to ensure ISPs tackle illegal P2P file-sharing.

In its contribution to the consultation process set up by the U.K. government's Department for Business Enterprises and Regulatory Reform (BERR), U.K. Music says a government-approved independent adjudicator is required to oversee a co-regulatory system covering ISPs and digital piracy. "In view of the historic differences between rights holders and ISPs, some form of regulatory control is required," U.K. Music says in its documents. The organization agrees with the government that media and telecommunications regulator Ofcom is the appropriate body." [Billboard]

UK Music call for online copyright regulator
"Cross-industry trade body UK Music has told the government that it supports proposals for a regulator to oversee copyright issues on the internet. In a submission to a government consultation on the issue of music and the net, UK Music say that, "in view of the historic differences between rights holders and ISPs, some form of regulatory control is required".
As much previously reported, some progress has been made this year regarding the long running dispute between the music industry and the internet service providers, in which the former said the latter had a duty to play a more proactive role in combating online piracy. " [CMUDaily]

Term extension petition launched at PPL APM
"'Performer members' of recordings royalty collecting society PPL (ie recording artists and musicians) have put their names to the latest petition calling on the government to extend the recorded music copyright term.
As much much much previously reported, in Europe the copyright term for recordings is fifty years, whereas the term enjoyed by songwriters (and writers and photographers etc) is life plus seventy years." [CMUDaily]

PPL performer members sign letter to the Prime Minister as UK government continues in its failure to give musicians copyright parity with other creators
"Performer members who attended PPL's second Annual Performer Meeting (APM), which took place at Abbey Road Studios on Monday (17th), were moved to sign a letter to the Prime Minister asking him for Fair Play For Musicians.

This important initiative has been made necessary due to the intransigence of the UK government in their failure to support copyright term extension which would put musicians on parity with other creators (authors, composers, painters, photographers amongst many) and which is being both recognised and supported by the European Commission and governments around Europe." [RecordOfTheDay]

Member States Review Key Copyright Issues
WIPO member states meeting under the auspices of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights met from November 3 to 7 November 2008 to review a number of key copyright issues. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Jukka Liedes of Finland, the SCCR examined the current state of play WIPO’s work on limitations and exceptions, the protection of audiovisual performances and the protection of broadcasting organizations. Discussions also featured the question of access to copyright-protected content by visually impaired persons. [WIPO]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 24/10/08

IGC Consultations to Continue on Future Work Program
"The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), Ambassador Rigoberto Gauto Vielman of Paraguay, said they would pursue efforts in the coming weeks to bridge differences among member states on the way to move international negotiations forward. The IGC wrapped up its 13th meeting late in the evening of October 17, 2008 after attempts to hammer out compromise texts on the future work program faltered. Despite intense negotiations, delegations were not able to agree on the working procedures required to deliver the concrete outcomes that many have called for from this Committee. The IGC’s mandate calls upon it to accelerate its work, and expectations remain strong that the Committee should produce a significant outcome by the time it is required to report back to the WIPO General Assembly in September 2009." [WIPO]

EC Legal Affairs Committee set to debate term
"No fireworks are expected, but some industry executives are already blocking out early November in their diaries as the next critical date in the copyright term story. The EC’s Legal Affairs Committee (LAC) meets in Brussels on November 4 to discuss the issue, which has so far been exercising a number of working groups.

According to one insider, the LAC is then likely to draw up a draft report, which will be put before the European Parliament.
“The word from the working groups is that Holland and the UK are currently not supporting copyright term extension. But, if the UK is isolated, it will not insist on being difficult,” he says. Poland was also thought to be against the extension of term, but another source suggests its ministers are sitting on the fence.

Once the European Parliament has looked at the work done by the LAC – and made its own amendments and readings - it will be sent down to the European Council for policy making. But the source is worried that, with the EU presidency due to change next year, the timing is tight if the Parliament goes for a second reading. “I think we are talking about the Parliament working on it in January and February, but March is really the last month that Parliament can vote,” he adds." [MusicWeek]

New Comms Minister plans report on Digital Britain
"Our new Minister For Communications, Technology And Broadcasting, former OfCom chief Stephen Carter, has announced he has commissioned a report on 'Digital Britain' which will inform government on what role it should play in the ongoing development of the digital and communications industries.

The report comes as one key digital media platform - digital audio broadcasting - faces an uncertain future following the decision by Channel 4 to bail out of its ambitious plans to launch a second national DAB network, and past decisions by some of the major radio firms who were instrumental in setting DAB up in the first place to sell off or close down their digital-only stations. The BBC remains committed to DAB, and with internet capacity issues already a concern as more people start to use rich media services like BBC iPlayer, the wider radio sector is probably advised to continue investing in a digital radio system that doesn't rely on the internet for delivery. Though with ad revenues from digital services still somewhat less than the cost of operating them, and with ad budgets set to be even further slashed in the coming year, it's not surprising commercial radio chiefs have lost their enthusiasm for DAB. Carter will also have to consider what to do about internet piracy. Although the ISPs have this year reluctantly agreed to take a more proactive role in helping record companies distribute warnings to those who access illegal sources of music online, if the warnings campaign doesn't prove to be a success and the labels start to push the ISPs towards taking more extreme action against copyright infringers - maybe even the 'three strikes and then you're cut off' proposal being considered in France - then they may need the government to come good on their promises to legislate in this area, and Carter may have to oversee that." [CMUDaily]

French Culture Minister Launches Cultural Independents Conference
"French minister of culture Christine Albanel has launched the "Arenes europeennes de l'independence" (European Arena Of Independence), a two-day conference session gathering European independent companies from the cultural field - mainly music, cinema and literature. The event will take place in Paris on Oct. 23 and 24.

"Creation is largely supported by independent companies," said Albanel, "which are largely impacted by online piracy." Albanel stressed that independent companies release 80% of new music records in France and generate 44% of the recorded market revenue and 67% of the industry jobs.

Albanel named several measures taken by her ministry during the past 18 months to support the recording industry, namely a €12 million ($15.7 million) tax-credit scheme allowing record companies to offset part of their investments on new records and a dedicated advance fund to help record companies borrow money.
"We need to go further," she added, in terms of financing and distribution. Albanel also reminded her audience about the importance of the EU to preserve fair market conditions and to rule on a more consistent VAT scheme for online cultural business."" [Billboard]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 20/10/08

WIPO Director General Calls for Concrete Outcomes to Benefit Indigenous and Local Communities
"The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, called upon WIPO’s member states to intensify efforts to develop concrete international outcomes on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. This call opened the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), WIPO’s principal policy forum working on these issues, on October 13, 2008. Newly appointed IGC Chairman, H.E. Ambassador Rigoberto Gauto Vielman of Paraguay, echoed the Director General’s call for the Committee to accelerate and focus its work with a view to delivering conclusive results. Mr. Gurry stressed the need for progress in the IGC’s work, in light of the high priority given to these issues by many diverse countries and by indigenous and local communities. He called on delegations to “reflect on the progress that we have made and where we are going in this process.” The Director General recalled the IGC’s decision at its last meeting in February 2008 to consider intersessional procedures to help accelerate the IGC’s work and to enable it to submit proposals to the WIPO General Assembly in September 2009 in line with the Committee’s current mandate. Mr. Gurry underlined the importance of maintaining a holistic approach to traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources, in the light of their cultural significance for many indigenous and local communities. But he equally pointed to the need for practical steps that would lead the Committee to areas of common ground on which solid progress could be made." [WIPO]

Ireland to work with EU lawyers on Lisbon opt-outs
"Irish Taoisach Brian Cowen said his government is consulting with EU council legal services on drafting possible "opt-outs" to the Lisbon treaty, speaking after an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. "We are prepared to go into that process in good faith," he said, the Irish Times reports, with the structure of the European Commission, EU military integration, taxation and civil rights the likely areas of concern.The Irish leader also underlined his personal support for the Lisbon document and used Iceland's financial meltdown to show the benefits of EU and eurozone membership."There is a huge body of opinion - not shared by the Irish people as things stand - that sees the need for stronger institutions, for better decision-making processes, for more effective decision-making to make sure we can deal with challenges that transcend national boundaries," Mr Cowen said." [EUObserver]

Ashton hearing brought forward
"Deal with European Parliament could limit the disruption caused by the handover of the trade portfolio to the UK's new commissioner. The European Parliament has agreed to fast-track its hearing of the UK's new European commissioner, Catherine Ashton, a move prompted by concerns that she might otherwise be obliged to miss a number of important international meetings." [EuropeanVoice]

EU Public Affairs Monitor - 10/10/08

WIPO
WIPO Expands its Distance Learning Program
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has added five new multilingual courses to the distance learning program offered by its Worldwide Academy. The new courses will cover Arbitration and Mediation Procedure, Patents, Patent Information Search, Basics of Patent Drafting, and Trademarks. [WIPO]


WIPO and ARIPO Sign MOU to Expand Cooperation
The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr. Francis Gurry, and his counterpart from the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Mr. Gift H. Sibanda, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on October 2, 2008 in Geneva, to strengthen and expand cooperation between the two organizations. The MOU covers traditional areas of cooperation relating to capacity building, as well as a special project to boost ARIPO’s patent information capacity. [WIPO]


CISAC
CISAC Appeals the European Commission’s Competition Decision
CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, has recently lodged an appeal against the European Commission Decision of July 16 in the Court of First instance of the European Communities. Contrary to the European Commission’s findings in its Decision, CISAC considers European authors’ societies have not engaged in concerted practice that restrict competition and have therefore not violated European competition law provisions. The network of authors’ societies – organised through reciprocal representation agreements between societies – best serve creators’ interest. It is the result of pure common sense for the efficient management of creators’ rights worldwide and not a concerted practice to prevent competition, as alleged by the Commission. [CISAC]


EU OBSERVER
Commission backs internet users over content providers
The European Parliament's rejection of a proposed "three strikes" law - that would see internet users have their connection cut off if they have been found to repeatedly violate copyright - must be respected, the commission said at an EUobserver-organised conference on internet rights.
"We have to respect the view of the parliament," information society commissioner Viviane Reding said at the Brussels event on Wednesday (8 October), referring to the "Bono Amendment" approved on 24 September by a large majority of MEPs in consideration of a wider telecoms bill.

The amendment states that: "No restriction may be imposed on the rights and freedoms of end users ... without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities" - language that forbids moves such as those currently under consideration by French lawmakers. [EUObserver]


EUROPEAN VOICE
Illegal downloads: France in bid to keep ‘three strikes' approach
France rejects European Parliament attempts to put courts in charge of cutting off internet services.France is fighting to retain executive powers to cut off internet users who persistently make illegal downloads, in the face of European Parliament attempts to require authorisation from courts for any interruption of services. French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso on Friday (3 October), urging rejection of an amendment approved by a majority of the European Parliament on 24 September in its debate on telecoms regulation. [EuropeanVoice]

MUSIC WEEK
CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, has lodged an appeal against the recent European Commission ruling against the sector.
Contrary to the European Commission’s findings in its July 16 ruling, CISAC considers European authors’ societies have not engaged in concerted practice that restrict competition and have, therefore, not violated European competition law provisions.
The move coincides with a raft of appeals being made to the EC, which has accused collection societies of operating membership restrictions and territorial exclusivity, by 22 other authors’ societies, including the UK’s PRS.

CISAC claims the EC decision creates a climate of “legal uncertainty” for rights-owners and users and has been to put an end to promising initiatives to develop an alternative and consensual pan-European licensing model for online use of creative content. CISAC director general Eric Baptiste says, “Since the pioneering Santiago agreements in 2000, CISAC and its members have long been committed to providing a new framework for multi-territorial licensing of musical works. Unfortunately, the confusing and flawed July Decision is not part of the solution but part of the problem. We hope that the court of first instance will provide the clarity that rights holders, music users and the public need for a thriving online content market in the EEA.” [MusicWeek]

Popkomm: Gibb blasts EC
Robin Gibb has delivered a hard hitting keynote speech to open Popkomm 2008 criticising the European Commission’s recent move against the way collecting societies operate. The president of CISAC, the international association for Authors Collection Societies, questioned why the Commission was “bothering with this at all”.

Gibb told the conference, which was opened by Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann, that the Commission is accusing the societies of using concerted practice to place restrictions on multi territorial licensing in the fields of satellite, cable and internet transmission. Gibb said, “According to the Commission this was done by the societies to prevent competition between societies. The decision does not ban reciprocal arrangements on a bilateral basis but it forbids societies from talking together on a multi lateral basis. This is obviously daft and makes international trade in music licensing even more difficult than before.” He also claimed that the Commission’s move “has the effect (of) blocking the licensing of new digital services". He added, "It has destroyed the current system for multi-territorial licences and has forbidden the societies to discuss any new way forward.” [MusicWeek]