Over the next few months, Commissioner McCreevy will be preparing to make a formal proposal to the European Parliament to nearly double the copyright term in sound recordings, from 50 years to 95 years. This preparation period gives his fellow Commissioners time to examine his proposal, to make sure it is serving the interests of Europe as a whole.
We don't think copyright term extension is a good thing for Europe. So we wrote to Commissioner Viviane Reding, whose job is to look after Europe's Information Society. We asked her to consider the evidence against copyright term extension.
We also pointed to the 10,000 people who have signed our petition opposing term extension and asking European legislators to take their concerns into account. Our letter was signed by the Director of the Adelphi Charter, and senior figures from Knowledge Ecology International, the UK's National Consumer Council, and the Green Party (England and Wales).
Here is a copy of our letter:
19 March 2008
To: Viviane Reding
Commissioner, Information Society and Media
DG Information Society and Media
European Commission
B-1049
Brussels, BelgiumDear Commissioner Reding
SUBJECT: COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION IN SOUND RECORDINGS
We write to express our strong concern about the recent proposal announced by Commissioner McCreevy, Commissioner for the Internal Market, to nearly double the term of copyright protection in sound recordings (1). We strongly believe that this will be to the detriment of citizens, consumers and the information society. We therefore urge you to oppose this proposal and do the future of the information society a great service. We set out briefly below the evidence for our case.
As you yourself have observed, “Copyright is a cornerstone of the information and knowledge based society” (2). The future of the information society rests in the respect that every European citizen has for copyright law. This respect will in part come from the enforcement of copyright law. But it will also come from the extent to which copyright law is drafted in the public interest. The public interest requires a balance between the public domain and private rights. We draw your attention to the Adelphi Charter (3), prepared by an international commission of experts from the arts, creative industries, human rights, law, economics, science, R&D, technology, the public sector and education, which states that
“In making decisions about intellectual property law, governments should adhere to these rules:
- There must be an automatic presumption against creating new areas of intellectual property protection, extending existing privileges or extending the duration of rights.
- The burden of proof in such cases must lie on the advocates of change.
- Change must be allowed only if a rigorous analysis clearly demonstrates that it will promote people's basic rights and economic well-being.
- Throughout, there should be wide public consultation and a comprehensive, objective and transparent assessment of public benefits and detriments”
The current approach being taken by Commissioner McCreevy would appear to violate every one of these conditions. We believe that in proposing an extension to the term for which copyright in sound recordings is enforced, Commissioner McCreevy has ignored vital evidence that this proposal will not promote economic well-being, and will instead discourage innovation, stunt the reissues market, and irrevocably damage future artists' and the general public's access to their cultural heritage. We refer you in particular to the Institute for Information Law (University of Amsterdam) study The Recasting of Copyright & Related Rights for the Knowledge Economy (4), commissioned by Commissioner McCreevy's own DG Internal Market, and to the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (University of Cambridge) study Review of the Economic Evidence Relating to an Extension of the Term of Copyright in Sound Recordings (5). Both studies come out clearly in favour of the status quo. We have yet to see any compelling evidence that refutes these findings.
If the European Commission proposes to extend term despite this compelling economic evidence, it risks alienating a large proportion of European citizens from the law, putting the future of the information society in jeopardy and reducing once again the size of the public domain. In this respect, we draw your attention to the ten thousand individuals who have so far signed a petition (6) opposing term extension and asking the European Commission to ensure that policy in this area reflects all concerned stakeholders, including consumer and public interest organisations, and not just the commercial rights-holders who advocate for extended copyright term.
We hope that having considered the case made above, you are prepared to use your powers to oppose the proposal to extend copyright term. Should you have any questions regarding the content of our letter, or would like to meet in person with representatives from any of our organisations, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Becky Hogge, Executive Director, Open Rights Group (UK)
Jill Johnstone, Director of Policy, National Consumer Council (UK)
John Howkins, Director, Adelphi Charter (International)
Michelle Childs, Head of European Affairs, Knowledge Ecology International
Danny O’Brien, International Outreach Coordinator, Electronic Frontier Foundation (International)
Tom Chance, Spokesperson on Intellectual Property, Green Party, England & Wales (UK)
- http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/240
- http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/788
- http://www.sitoc.biz/adelphicharter/adelphi_charter.asp.htm
- http://www.ivir.nl/publications/other/IViR_Recast_Final_Report_2006.pdf
- http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/B/4/gowers_cipilreport.pdf
- http://www.soundcopyright.eu/petition
We'll blog here just as soon as we get a response - Commission protocol dictates that we should get a response within 15 working days of sending the letter.
