Year in Review: Copyright Term

There have been two main jurisdictions in which copyright term extension has been considered in 2008. The majority of reports concern term extension by the European community with respect to sound recordings. Debate has also continued in the United Kingdom. Critics of term extension have also put forward alternative proposals designed to create a more efficient intellectual property system.

Europe
In the later half of 2008 the European Commission formerly adopted proposals to extend the copyright term for sound recordings from 50 years to 95 years.[1] The provision included a clause which would see the copyright revert to the original creator after 50 years where the label or business partner is not actively exploiting the work.[2] If the original creator does not exploit the work then it would revert to the public domain.[3]

Designed to enable the continued recouping of royalties by recording artists, critics noted that in effect the vast majority of additional funds would go to recording labels instead.[4]

Open Rights released a report suggesting that 90% of funds over this period of time would be paid to record labels, 9% of funds would go to 20% of artists with only 1% of the additional income being shared by the lower 80% of musicians.[5]

Open Rights argue:

We have seen no evidence that living artists as a whole would benefit decisively from an extension of exclusive rights held by record companies. The benefits will fall to those who need it least: already wealthy performers, and their estates and record companies.

An exclusive term of protection of 50 years should be more than sufficient to cover the investment horizon of record producers. Any retrospective protection is in effect a windfall that will negatively affect access to, and exploitation of the back catalogues of recorded music.

While the empirical evidence is missing, it is simply preposterous to claim both, that term extension does not make any difference to consumer prices, and that record companies need term extension to boost their revenues...[6]

Open Rights continue to lobby against the introduction of term extension gathering over 7,000 signatures on a petition.[7]

Other critics warned of the associated impact that term extension would have on innovation.[8] Professor P. Bernt Hugenholtz, head of the University of Amsterdam Institute for Information Law who prepared two central reports on copyright in 2005 and 2006 concluded that term extension would be bad for consumers, competitors and society as a whole.[9]

The proposal has not yet been introduced to the European Parliament.[10]

UK
Despite rejection of copyright term extension in 2006 following the Gowers report, it appears that there is still some prospect for it to be introduced in the UK with ongoing lobbying by representatives of the content industry.[11] One report suggests that a Bill seeking to introduce term extension was presented to the House of Commons for a second reading speech but was objected to, delaying the reading.[12]

Alternatives
Alternatives to copyright term extension proposed in 2008 included a proposal to introduce 5 year renewable terms with protection lapsing if registration is not renewed or the work does not remain commercially available.[13]

[1] ZeroPaid, Artists to Get as Little as 83 Cents if Copyrights Extended to 95 Years (10 September 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9742/Artists+to+Get+as+Little+as+83+Cents+if+Copyrights+Extended+to+95+Yrs> at 12 September 2008; ArsTechnica, Experts attack Big Content's EU copyright power-grab (22 July 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080722-experts-attack-big-contents-eu-copyright-power-grab.html> at 23 July 2008; TechDirt, EU Plans To Extend Copyright; Turns Copyright System Into Welfare For Musicians (16 July 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080716/1214041701.shtml> at 18 July 2008; Times Online, Sir Cliff Richard pins hopes on law that will keep cash rolling in until he’s 113 (17 July 2008) <http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article4347643.ece> at 18 July 2008; ZeroPaid, EU Props Up Record Labels, Extends Album Copyright to 95 yrs (17 July 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9635/EU+Props+Up+Record+Labels%2C+Extends+Album+Copyright+to+95yrs> at 18 July 2008; TechDirt, EU Again Thinks About Extending Copyright, Despite Earlier Rejection (15 July 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080715/0101411681.shtml> at 16 July 2008; The Register, EU commissioner backs record biz on copyright extensions (15 February 2008) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/15/eu_copyright_extension_mccreevy/> at 18 February 2008
[2] Digital Music News, European Lawmakers Mull Massive Copyright Extension (18 July 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071708copyright> at 19 July 2008; The Register, Copyright gets 'Use It Or Lose It' clause (16 July 2008) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/16/ec_copyright_term_extension/> at 18 July 2008
[3] Digital Music News, European Lawmakers Mull Massive Copyright Extension (18 July 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071708copyright> at 19 July 2008; The Register, Copyright gets 'Use It Or Lose It' clause (16 July 2008) <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/16/ec_copyright_term_extension/> at 18 July 2008
[4] ZeroPaid, Artists to Get as Little as 83 Cents if Copyrights Extended to 95 Years (10 September 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9742/Artists+to+Get+as+Little+as+83+Cents+if+Copyrights+Extended+to+95+Yrs> at 12 September 2008
[5] ZeroPaid, Artists to Get as Little as 83 Cents if Copyrights Extended to 95 Years (10 September 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9742/Artists+to+Get+as+Little+as+83+Cents+if+Copyrights+Extended+to+95+Yrs> at 12 September 2008; TechDirt, Copyright Extention In Europe Will Only Make Musicians A Tiny Amount Of Money; But Will Cost Consumers (9 September 2008) <http://regbyarchexp4.blogspot.com/search/label/v> at 12 September 2008
[6] ZeroPaid, British Top Legal Advisers - Copyright Term Extension is Bad (20 June 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9569/British+Top+Legal+Advisers+-+Copyright+Term+Extension+is+Bad> at 26 June 2008
[7] ZeroPaid, European Anti-Copyright Extension Petition Gathers Momentum (7 March 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9314/European+Anti-Copyright+Extension+Petition+Gathers+Momentum> at 7 March 2008; ZeroPaid, Open Rights Group Urges on Fight to Stop Copyright Extension (22 February 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9285/Open+Rights+Group+Urges+on+Fight+to+Stop+Copyright+Extension> at 25 February 2008
[8] TechDirt, Professor Slams European Commission For Ignoring The Evidence On Copyright Extension (29 August 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080826/2218102106.shtml> at 1 September 2008; TechDirt, European Intellectual Property Scholars: Copyright Extension Harms Innovation (23 July 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080722/1536121764.shtml> at 24 July 2008; EFF Deeplinks, Stop Copyright Term Extension in Europe! (29 February 2008) <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/02/stop-copyright-term-extension-europe> at 11 March 2008
[9] ArsTechnica, EU pays for, then ignores study on copyright extension (27 August 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080827-eu-pays-for-then-ignores-study-on-copyright-extension.html> at 28 August 2008; Herald Tribune, Free the music (24 March 2008) <http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/24/opinion/edbaldwin.php> at 8 April 2008
[10] TechDirt, EU Plans To Extend Copyright; Turns Copyright System Into Welfare For Musicians (16 July 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080716/1214041701.shtml> at 18 July 2008
[11] TechDirt, UK Government May Extend Copyright, Despite Saying It Wouldn't (6 June 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080605/1943301325.shtml> at 9 June 2008
[12] ZeroPaid, British Copyright Term Extension Bill Delayed (8 March 2008) <http://www.zeropaid.com/news/9315/British+Copyright+Term+Extension+Bill+Delayed> at 10 March 2008
[13] TechDirt, How About Five Year Renewable Copyrights With A Use-It-Or-Lose-It Clause? (23 July 2008) <http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080721/1442081747.shtml> at 24 July 2008