Brussels, 13/02/2009 (Agence Europe) - In his report on copyright in the music sector, Brian Crowley (UEN, Ireland) backs the European Commission proposal to extend copyright on music recordings from 50 to 95 years.
The report, which was adopted on Thursday 12 February by the European Parliament legal affairs committee, wants performers and producers to continue to receive royalties for a longer time than current legislation provides for. To ensure that performers fully enjoy the additional royalties deriving from copyright extension, the committee amended the original text so as to prevent the use of previous contractual agreements to deduct money from the additional royalties. MEPs also want a dedicated fund for session musicians, to be financed by contributions from producers, who would be obliged to set aside, at least once a year, a minimum of 20% of the revenues gained from the proposed extension of copyright term, for this purpose. Committee members also amended a provision relating to this fund so as to give collecting societies, which represent performers' and producers' interests, the right to administer the annual supplementary remuneration. The committee also asked the Commission to launch an impact assessment of the situation in the European audiovisual sector by January 2010, with a view to deciding whether a similar copyright extension would benefit the audiovisual world. They also asked the Commission to submit three years after the new legislation comes into force, and every four years thereafter, an assessment of whether the copyright extension has in fact improved the social situation of performers. (I.L./transl.rt)