Mike Weatherley MP, the UK Prime MInister's Intellectual Property Advisor, has published the third of his copyright reports t, this one called 'Copyright Education And Awareness'. It follows on from the Hove & Portslade MP's previously reported papers on piracy, the first focused on the 'follow the money' approach to combating online infringement, the second looking at the role of the search engines. Key recommendations in the new report include:A step up in the coordination of IP awareness programmes, led by the IPO; more coordination in government and industry-led IP awareness initiatives; Greater measurement of IP perceptions and behaviours; Incorporating IP education in the school curriculum; The BBC to create a copyright education programme; Emphasis on better, clearer information on IP education; Making better use of technology; Introduction of an IP/Education coordinator; Emphasis on reporting outcomes across Government. The incorporation of IP education into the school curriculum may come back to bite the MP: When similar moves were introduced in the USA they caused quite a stir - particularly when materials were produced for schools by content owners (including film, music and TV companies) with a percieved lack of balance and opposition from those with different views on copyright.
Commenting on this report, Weatherley told reporters : "Getting education right on intellectual property awareness is paramount if, as a country, we are to properly respect the value of the creative industries. I have now submitted three reports to the Prime Minister on various aspects of intellectual property and I hope that my education report will help shape the future of both IP education and awareness across the country". Backing the report, Culture Minister Sajid Javid added: "Intellectual property underpins our creative industries. It's what our past success was built on and it's what our future success depends on. We need to get the message across that if people value creativity - and most do - then it has to be paid for. Education plays a vitally important role in changing people's behaviour. By communicating the vital importance of copyright, not just to the success of our creative industries but to the many jobs these sectors will create, we hope to bring about behavioural change".
You can download Weatherley's report via his website - although currently this download does'nt seem to be working.
Mike's previous report Search Engines & Piracy here
Some rather sensible advice for (US) teachers on Education World here
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| Mike Weatherley MP |
Mike Weatherley MP, who has been particularly vocal on music business and intellectual property issues in his time in the UK Parliament, has announced he will not re-stand at next year's General Election. The Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade since 2010, Weatherley worked in both the music and film industries before entering politics. He has been very involved in the All Party Parliamentary Groups on music and ticketing, and last year became the IP Advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron - as well as running the 'Rock The House' band competition which saw winners pay live in the Speaker's Rooms at the House of Commons in London. Commenting, Mike said: “This has been an exceptionally difficult decision to make. It has been a remarkable opportunity to represent the wonderful residents of Hove and Portslade in Parliament and I look forward to continuing to do this until the election near year.” Mike recently successfully battled cancer.
Indian TV company Multi Screen Media, a Sony subsidiary, has secured wide ranging web-block injunction in the Indian courts forcing internet service providers in the country to block some 219 websites - although the original legal filing last month reportedly targeted 479 offending online services who were illegally streaming FIFA World Cup programmes. Rather than targeting the sites, Multi Screen looked for blocking order(s) and the judge in the case said "Learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that many of the websites [in the list] are anonymous in nature and it is virtually impossible to locate the owners of such websites or contact details of such owners. It is further submitted that many of these rogue websites also hide behind domain privacy services offered by various domain name registrars".
Variety reports that following its defeat at the Supreme Court, Aereo is pursuing a new legal strategy in an effort to keep its broadcast streaming business alive. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan on Wednesday, Aereo’s legal team is claiming that it is eligible for the same statutory license that cable companies pay in providing broadcast transmissions to their subscribers. Aereo cites the Supreme Court majority opinion, which was rooted in the idea that because Aereo was “substantially similar to” a cable system, it fell under provisions of the 1976 Copyright Act that target such multichannel distributors and is "proceeding to file the necessary statements of account and royalty fees”.
UK collecting society PRS For Music has confirmed that the much anticipated Global Repertoire Database - a central database for musical works - has run been scrapped, though said that it remained "committed to the principles of a single point of works registration" and hoped lessons learned from the GRD could be employed in future song ownership data ventures. CMU Daily reports that the GRD was initially backed by all the big publishers, most of the significant music collecting societies, and some of the digital players who need access to the data. ICE, the joint venture between PRS For Music and Swedish collecting society STIM, was appointed as a technology provider, Deloitte were handed the business development role but recent missed self imposed deadlines and this week sources told Music Week that after £8 million in investment, the venture had been "scrapped due to a fall-out of collection societies over funding".
You will probably remember the fact that 'Happy Birthday to You” is now the subject of a lawsuit brought against the publishing arm of Warner Music Group, which claims copyright ownership in the song, which was registered in 1935. The complaint, from a disgruntled film producer who had to cough up $1,500 to use the track, was filed in federal court in Manhattan and claims that “Happy Birthday to You” has been in the public domain since at least 1921. The suit seeks class action status on behalf of anyone who paid a royalty to use “Happy Birthday to You” in the past four years. The song allegedly generates at least $2 million a year in licensing fees for Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. In their last filing, the plaintiffs claimed that the words were published in a variety of formats pre-1935, going back to 1893. Well, Warners have now filed a status update which offers the first glimpse of some of the defences Warner may use. In it's brief statement, Warner's lawyers explain it's on the plaintiffs to prove that the 1935 copyright registration "was not intended to cover the lyrics to Happy Birthday to You" saying: "Certificate E51990 applies on its face to a "published musical composition" entitled "Happy Birthday to You" and the listing under the byline is as follows: "By Mildred J. Hill, arr. by Preston Ware Orem; with words." The certificate further states: “(© is claimed on arrangement as easy piano solo with text).” ... All of this, as well as the validity of the copyright, is prima facie presumed true in this litigation. The parties have agreed to a schedule that has discovery on the copyright issue continuing through to September 2014. Once evidence is collected, the two sides will submit motions arguing their case in November. ArtsTechnica say that the parties appear to have agreed to litigate the copyright validity issue on the papers, without a trial.
Currently sound recordings in the USA created before February 15th 1972 fall outside of the federal Copyright Act. And now the owners of sound recordings CAN collect royalties for their use on satellite radio and Internet radio services like SiriusXM, this matters - and collection society Sound Exchange estimated that it could collect 15% or so more than the $590 million it collected in 2013 if the recordings were covered. In 2011, the U.S Copyright Office issued a report recommending Congress take action to change this, but so far, nothing’s happened. Except in Tennessee! State Senator Stacey Campfield decided to act, saying “The music industry—they came to me and said, ‘We’re not getting our royalties.’ They said it’s something that could have a big impact,” who has now introduced the “Legacy Sound Recording Protection Act” (SB/HB 2187) with Rep. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) to close the federal loophole in Tennessee.
Whilst on first reading "The bill seems quite reasonable" and it seems most of its language is copied directly from federal copyright law, there have been some comments on the narrowness of the bill. Attorney Brandon Butler told Metro Pulse “The bill is strikingly one-sided. It gives rights-holders even more power than they have under federal law, but it gives the public, including libraries, journalists, and even other artists, none of the reuse rights that federal law includes” adding “The law is likely unconstitutional because it lacks fair-use protections” . The Bill also fails to include any provisions related to the first sale doctrine, which might mean that the musical state becomes the only place in the USA where record shops cannot re-sell second hand LPs, with University of Tennessee Law School professor Gary Pulsinelli saying that if the Bill is passed as is, “It’s entirely possible a court would say that you can’t sell music recorded before 1972”. The draft Bill was provided to Senator Campfield by 'sometime' music industry lobbyist and copyright owner Tony Gottlieb, and has yet to reach a committee in either the House or the Senate in Tennessee.
Back to Trinidad and Tobago - whose rival collection societies graced these web pages not two weeks ago. Now it seems the newer of the two music collection societies, the Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Collection Organisation (TTCO), has threatened legal action against the National Carnival Commission (NCC) for $6 million worth of outstanding royalties owed to its members over the past six years. Speaking to the Trinidad Express, NCC chairman Allison Demas said her organisation, through attorneys, had written to the TTCO on the matter back in February 2013 but to date no response has been forthcoming. “They still have not answered all the questions posed. Our attorney requested a meeting last year. They never responded, and again we await to get a response this year from the TTCO” Demas said.
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| Joe Walsh |
An eclectic 'supergroup' of Sting, Steven Tyler and Britney Spears , Don Henley, Ozzy Osbourne, deadmau5, Mick Fleetwood and Joe Walsh are among artists fighting copyright law reforms that would allow mashups without their permission. The may represent different music styles, but they are united in telling the U.S. Patent and Trade Office that artists, who write and make music, not copyright law, should determine who has rights to make remixes, sampling and mashups that include their songs.
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| deadmau5 |
The artists were joined by letters filed in support of copyright stakeholder groups including the Copyright Alliance, ASCAP, BMI, the National Music Publishers Association, Writers Guild of America West and the Motion Pictures Association of America. The Eagle's Henley said: "As a songwriter and recording artist, I can tell you that approval over how my music is used is very important to me," adding "Every song I write is personal and has meaning to me. A sample or a remix takes a piece of art, cuts it up and then either reassembles it into something different or combines it with another person's work." The USPTO questioned whether existing copyright law needed to be updated to reflect innovation in the digital economy in a task force report last year and asked for comments on a large number of different copyright issues, including the question of mashups.
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| Mike Weatherley MP |
If you wondered what the UK Prime Minister's advisor on IP thinks about online piracy, web blocking, the role of Google in protecting the interests of copyright owners, and custodial sentences for online piracy, Mike Weatherley, the conservative MP for Hove, has given an interview to CMU Daily's Business Editor Chris Cooke and you can read it all here.
Further to John's very clear report on the breaking news in the Svensson decision, over on the IPKat Eleonora has been having more of a ponder, and has now posted her "Early Thoughts On Svensson: communication/making available, new public,altering the scope of exclusive rights" - all this - AND a great presentation for the joined BLACA and IPKat (very busy) copyright seminar chaired by Sir Colin Birss with Bird & Birds' Graham Smith on Wednesday night- Are Moral Rights Human Rights? - something this blogger now knows more about - but still doesn't know the answer to! Anyway, I digress, Eleonora on Svensson is well worth a read.
And finally - shame on London: Viviane Reding, the EU's Justice Commissioner, has had clothing, jewellery and a cottage pie stolen from a locked official car in Mayfair after she attended debate at the Royal Institution. The cottage pie, apparently purchased to show European colleagues just how good British cooking can be, seems to have been judged the greatest loss. And the fact that rather important EU paperwork was completely ignored and was the only thing left behind by the thief brings a smug British grin on my face and can I ask - what does that say about the UK's views on the EU?! Eeeek.
AT&T has started sending letters to some of its customers, threatening to disconnect them because they've been accused ("without trial or a chance to rebut the evidence") of copyright infringement. AT&T is doing this voluntarily as part of the controversial Copyright Alert System, whose overseeing body is The Center for Copyright Information. You can see the letter here.
Former US presidential hopeful, 'hockey mum' and former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin is facing a copyright claim: the North Jersey Media Group have filed a law suit against Palin and her political action committee (PAC), alleging copyright infringement over the use of an iconic photograph of a flag at Ground Zero taken by one of their newspaper photographers on the politician's website and Facebook pages. In the photo, three fireman raise an American flag over the debris of the World Trade Center towers - and appeared on Palin's PAC’s website and Facebook page under the words “We Will Never Forget” though it seems the image is no longer on either site
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| Mike Weatherley MP |
In the UK, Mike Weatherley, the MP for Hove, and organiser of the annual 'Rock The House' talent competition, has been appointed as the Prime Minister's Adviser on Intellectual Property, with a particular focus on "enforcement issues relating to the creative industries". Mike comes from a strong professional background in Intellectual Property for both music and film. Before his election to Parliament in 2010, Mike was the Vice President (Europe) for the Motion Picture Licensing Company and previously worked for music industry giant Pete Waterman. And this blogger can confirm from personal experience that Mike is a big music fan - cares about the creative industries - is a very approachable MP - actually knows something about IP - and is happy to help when he thinks he can make a difference.
It seems that Liberation Music has belatedly realized it chose the wrong adversary in Lawrence Lessig for a copyright dispute. Citing the need to protect a copyrighted song, the company had sought to block the work of Harvard law professor Lessig, after he posted a lecture that included amateur videos using the song “Lisztomania,” by the band Phoenix on YouTube, to demonstrate how individuals can create new content by blending homemade videos with popular music.
After a YouTube take down, reinstatement and now the claim being withdrawn, one wonders why this was ever even started: I have to say "Fair use" springs to mind - as does "Egg on faces" at the record label. And what of the recording artist - the now very successful French band Phoenix comprising of Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz? It would be interesting to get their take on what their record label have been up to, not least as despite Liberation dropping it's claim, Lessig, aided by the Electronic Freedom Foundation, still plans to fight the takedown in US District Court in Boston, where Liberation Music had filed the complaint.
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| Philip Pullman |
His Dark Materials author Philip Pullman has said that illegal downloading is a kind of "moral squalor" and copyright theft is much as reaching in to someone's pocket and stealing their wallet is theft, saying that authors and musicians work in poverty and obscurity for years to bring their work to the level "that gives delight to their audiences, and as soon as they achieve that, the possibility of making a living from it is taken away from them". In an article in the Index on Censorship he says that it is outrageous that anyone can steal an artist's work and get away with it" and adds "The principle is simple, and unaltered by technology, science, or magic: if we want to enjoy the work that someone does, we should pay for it"
Pullman is president of the Society of Authors and in the article Cathy Casserly, chief executive of Creative Commons, responds on the place of copyright in the digital age.
The US film industry has welcomed a paper published by the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies which questions earlier research that claimed that the shutdown of MegaUpload had had a detrimental effect on smaller independent film releases.
That research, f
rom the University Of Munich and the Copenhagen Business School claimed that while the closure of MegaUpload had contributed to a slight increase in revenues for blockbuster movies, mid-sized films had probably lost out, because file-transfer sites enabled peer-to-peer promotion of films that couldn't afford massive advertising campaigns, and that could result in more tickets sold at the cinema. Now Dr George Ford of the Phoenix Center has suggested that the Munich and Copenhagen academics reached that conclusion because of "a poorly-designed statistical model" and a misunderstanding of the economics of the film industry. The study, therefore, Ford reckons, "adds nothing constructive to the debate - save a little excitement". Motion Picture Association of America comment here.
And finally, music creators and performers - and others - might find this article by Kristelia Garcia of interest - How Private Copyright Deals Are Cutting Artists Out...: Ms Garcia is a Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School, and a Visiting Associate Professor at George Washington Law School, and is also a former executive at both MySpace Music and Universal Music Group: the article reflects on the recent flurry of direct deals between record labels and/or music publishers with broadcasters in the USA - and the potential problems being faced by both the music collection societies - and composers, writers, performers and recording artists when labels and publishers 'deal direct'.
