Intellectual property

Comments of Dr. Adam B. Jaffe on collective rights management – second part

Published 4th July 2016

The underlying source of the PROs’ and publishers unhappiness with the current performance royalty landscape seems to be that musical works performance royalties for non-interactive digital music services are much lower than the sound recording royalty rates for the same licensees. It is important to note in this context that this disparity results from an explicit decision by the CRB that sound recording performance royalties should not be tied to music composition performance royalties.

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Russian Authors’ Society is under enforcement fire again

Published 27th June 2016

This time it is much more seriously. Not only business activity of accredited collecting society is in the field of interests of Russian law enforcement authorities, but also top management of organisation get their attention. Now not only Russian ministry of internal affairs but also Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) try to find out all aspects of very old issue.

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National intellectual property rights policy of India

Published 27th June 2016

An all-encompassing IPR Policy will promote a holistic and conducive ecosystem to catalyse the full potential of intellectual property for India’s economic growth and socio-cultural development, while protecting public interest. The rationale for the National IPR Policy lies in the need to create awareness about the importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool. The Policy lays down seven Objectives which are elaborated with steps to be undertaken by the identified nodal Ministry/ department.

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Comments of Dr. Adam B. Jaffe on collective rights management – first part

Published 19th June 2016

Copyright gives creators a monopoly over their own works; rightsholders licensing their works individually have the right to charge whatever they choose, and would not be subject to any restriction on their licensing practices or prices. There is no legal or regulatory restriction on the right of any individual composer to operate in this manner today. Composers and music publishers have chosen, however, to organize themselves into Performing Rights Organizations or “PROs.” The PROs (ASCAP, BMI and SESAC) offer “blanket” licenses that convey to broadcasters and other users the right of public performance to the works of thousands of individual composers at a single price. We would not allow wheat farmers or law firms to band together and offer access to their products only on a package basis at a fixed price, because we expect that if they did so they would insist on higher prices than each could get on their own.

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Proposal for a regulation of the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market – territoriality of rights in content

Published 14th June 2016

In order to ensure that providers of online content services which are provided against payment of money comply with the obligation to provide cross-border portability of their services without acquiring the relevant rights in another Member State, it is necessary to stipulate that those providers which lawfully provide portable online content services against payment of money in the Member State of residence of subscribers are always entitled to provide such services to those subscribers when they are temporarily present in another Member State.

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Proposal for a regulation of the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market – subject of appliance

Published 10th June 2016

Proposed regulation (official document) should apply only to online content services which subscribers can effectively access and use in the Member State in which they habitually reside without being limited to a specific location, as it is not appropriate to require service providers that do not offer portable services in their home country to do so across borders.

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Draft second act amending the Telemedia Act: material content of the draft – conditions of liability

Published 10th June 2016

Service providers are in principle not responsible for external information saved for a user as long as they are not aware of the unlawful action or information. In the case of claims for damages this only applies if they do not know of any facts or circumstances from which the unlawful action or information becomes apparent. In the case of certain services whose business model is based on the infringement of intellectual property rights, it may be assumed, based on general experience of life, that the service provider will be sufficiently aware of many facts and items of information from which the unlawful action or information becomes apparent.

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Proposal for a regulation of the cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market – guarantee of quality and scope of service

Published 8th June 2016

In order to ensure the cross-border portability of online content services it is necessary to require providers of online content services which are provided against payment of money to enable their subscribers to use the service in the Member State of their temporary presence by providing them access to the same content on the same range and number of devices, for the same number of users and with the same range of functionalities as those offered in their Member State of residence.

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Motion for and European Parliament resolution on ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty

Published 8th June 2016

Having regard to the petitions from EU citizens with print disabilities, and particularly Petition 924/2011 by Dan Pescod (British), on behalf of the European Blind Union (EBU)/Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), on access by blind people to books and other printed products and whereas the World Health Organisation estimated in 2010 that across Europe there are 2 550 000 blind people and 23 800 000 partially sighted people, giving a total of 26 350 000 visually impaired individuals and whereas only 5% of all published books in the developed countries and less than 1% in the developing countries are ever produced in accessible formats.

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The objective of proposed regulation of cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market

Published 8th June 2016

The objective of Regulation (official document) is to adapt the harmonised legal framework on copyright and related rights and to provide a common approach to the provision of online content services to subscribers temporarily present in Member States other than their Member State of residence, in order to ensure that the present barriers to cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market no longer exist.

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Category: Intellectual property