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WIPO: New text on broadcasting treaty
Daren Tang, Chair of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), has recently issued a revised consolidated text on core articles of a potential Treaty protecting broadcasting organisations against signal piracy.
The new text is based on various member state feedback and addresses issues such as what the Treaty should protect, which rights should be granted and who should benefit from such rights.
The text will no doubt be discussed at the 36th session of the SCCR taking place from 28 May to 1 June.
Russia officially implements Marrakesh Treaty
The Russian Federation has officially implemented the Marrakesh Treaty - the 34th country to do so. The Treaty ensures that there are limitations or exceptions to copyright rules for the benefit of people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print-disabled.
The European Union Council of Ministers, meanwhile, has adopted a decision that enables the EU to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty ‘as from next summer’.
EU-Mercosur deal 90% complete
Negotiators from Mercosur and the European Union resumed negotiations on 20 February. The EU has been negotiating a trade deal with the four founding Mercosur states - Argentina, Brazil Paraguay and Uruguay - as part of a broader Association Agreement between the two regions. Discussions broke down completely between 2004 and 2010 and formal talks were only relaunched in 2016.
The current negotiations cover issues such as tariffs, services and IP rights. The IP chapter covers, among other things, the term of copyright protection (life plus 70) and cooperation on collective management of rights where parties agree to promote transparency in particular regarding the revenues they collect, the deductions applied to such income and the use of the royalties. In addition, there are rules on non-discrimination against members of collective management organisations.
After this latest round of talks in Asunción, Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga said, “We still need to conclude sensitive pending issues,” but added that there was agreement on ‘90%’ of items.
There is pressure to wrap up the deal soon because Brazil’s election campaign starts in March.
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China: No more hip-hop or tattoos?
China's state media regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT), has issued a statement apparently banning hip-hop culture and people with tattoos from appearing on television.
Chinese rappers Mao Yanqi and Wang Hao have already been removed from shows on the country's television stations. Chinese social media has hit out against the ban.
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United States: ‘Songwriters are the unsung heroes of the music industry’
Singer-songwriter Steven Tyler and President & CEO of the National Music Publishers' Association David Israelite, have penned a guest column in Billboard magazine, heralding songwriters as ‘the unsung heroes of the music industry’ and urging the US Congress to pass the Music Modernization Act or MAA.
“The MMA is legislation that has brought everyone to the table like never before and now presents a promising future for songwriters and the digital companies who rely on their work. We just need Congress to pass it,” reads their piece.
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ICMP signs joint letter in support of EU music programme
Music Moves Europe, a new pilot programme from the European Commission's Education and Culture Directorate General was recently launched in Brussels. The initiative will test various schemes that could become part of a European Union music programme to officially launch in 2021.
Various music trade bodies, including ICMP and its member the Independent Music Publishers Forum, have sent a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcoming the new initiative and calling on him to support a permanent music support programme at the end of the pilot phase.
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Deceased composer’s music to get new lease of life
Music publisher G. Schirmer has announced that it will ‘restore, reconstruct, publish and promote’ minimalist composer Julius Eastman’s music. It is hoped the deal will ensure that the music of Eastman, who was once a key figure on the New York’s avant-garde music scene but who died in obscurity in 1990, will flourish.
Music scene is good for cities
According to Canadian Collective Management Organisation SOCAN’s ‘Live Music & Urban Canadians’ study, the majority of Canadians living in cities think it is important to live in a neighbourhood ‘with a vibrant local arts scene that includes live music’.
The study also finds that cities with strong music scenes can elevate their city brand.
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