Performers' rights

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On the history of international (and Cuban) neighbouring rights

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On the history of international (and Cuban) neighbouring rights

In a short article, economics scholar Rasmus Fleischer (2015) offers a concise and illuminating history of the political processes leading to the 1961 Rome Convention and the formation of neighbouring rights. The author takes us back to the 1930s and the responses of musicians and record companies to the rise of the public use of records and radio. The struggles that unfolded between musicians unions, represented by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and record companies, represented by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI, formed for this purpose in 1933), had different motivations.

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How is the Fair Internet for Performers Campaign faring in the European debate?

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How is the Fair Internet for Performers Campaign faring in the European debate?

This article comments on developments related to the Fair Internet for Performers Campaign (FIPC) in the light of the Draft Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market published by the European Commission in September 2016. My focus is on the recently adopted opinions of IMCO, ITRE and CULT, which together have submitted nearly 1000 amendments.

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‘Significance of contribution’ in Article 14 of the EC copyright draft proposal

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‘Significance of contribution’ in Article 14 of the EC copyright draft proposal

Article 14 of the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market 2016 on transparency in contractual relations between authors and performers and their powerful counterparts includes a proportionality assessment in two parts: i) a proportionality assessment between the value of the revenue and the administrative burden resulting from the obligation (Art.14(2)) and ii) the ‘significance of the contribution’ to the overall work or performance (Art.14(3)). Here I will focus on the second paragraph and offer a thought-experiment to explain why it is not likely to be an effective measure.