EU turns its attention to music copyright

By Steve Malone

Posted on 11 Jul 2005 at 12:00

Undeterred by the defeat of the EU software patents directive, Europe is stepping back into the murky world of copyright enforcement - this time covering music, films and other digitised content.

The European Commission has published a study on the workings of European copyright. It says there is a need to harmonise the various copyright mechanisms throughout Europe so that new services do not need to clear copyright hurdles in every one of the 25 member states. Among the kind of online music services under consideration are simulcasting, webcasting, streaming, downloading or an online 'on-demand' service on the Internet and music and video services provided to mobile phones.

The report says that a single system across Europe to clear copyright and deliver back royalties to artists and other copyright holders would provide a significant boost to the market. At present, it is estimated that the European music download business is only one tenth of that of the US.

It points out that the media, cultural, and knowledge industries are key industries in Europe and are dependent on copyright protection. The copyright industry adds more than €1.2 trillion (€1,200 billion) to the economy of the European Union, produces an added value of €450 billion, and employs 5.2 million people in 2000 or 3.1 per cent of total EU employment.

Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said,'We have to improve the licensing of music copyright on the Internet. The absence of pan-European copyright licenses makes it difficult for new European-based online services to take off. This is why we are proposing the creation of Europe-wide copyrights clearance. Central clearance is not about making content available on the cheap. It offers a model whereby Europe's creative community will get the lion's share in revenues achieved online.'

The EU hopes to put a system into place by the end of this year.