AEPO-ARTIS Seminar “Post Copyright Directive: What performers’ rights protection in the future?”

On 10 December 2019, the Association of European Performers’ Organisations, AEPO-ARTIS, held its annual seminar dedicated to a discussion on “Post Copyright Directive: What performers’ rights protection in the future?”

A roundtable discussion took place gaining the perspective of the EU institutions and WIPO on the subject. AEPO-ARTIS was grateful to receive contributions from Marco Giorello, Head of Copyright Unit, DG CNECT, European Commission, Dr Christian Ehler, MEP, European Parliament and Sylvie Forbin, Deputy Director General, Copyright and Creative Industries Sector, the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

The panel discussions that followed, amongst other issues, took stock of the recently adopted Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market and discussed what the next steps in performers’ rights protection should be now.

In this regard, the fair remuneration of performers from on-demand services (iTunes, Netflix, Spotify, …) was at the heart of the discussion from an academic perspective (in panel 1) and from the point of view of performers and collective management organisations (in panel 2).

Contributions were received from performers Jean Rogers and Boštjan Dermol (both of whom also represent performers’ organisations – BECS in the UK and IPF in Slovenia respectively) as well as Bruno Boutleux, Managing Director of the French performers’ organisation ADAMI and Éanna Casey, Chief Executive of the Irish performers’ organisation RAAP.

Amongst other things, it was noted that whilst the online audio and audiovisual markets are clearly thriving, the exclusive right for making available on demand granted to performers under the EU’s 2001 Copyright Directive has barely changed the economic situation of performers. The right is generally transferred in buy-out contracts to producers, with only a few famous performers managing to negotiate the payment of royalties. Most performers receive a one-off payment for the transfer of all their rights, for the entire term of protection, and regardless of how successful the exploitation is in the end.

AEPO-ARTIS was delighted to welcome some of Europe’s most prominent academics in an exchange on the future of the protection of performers’ rights. Professor André Lucas (University of Nantes), Adj. Professor Dr Silke von Lewinski ((Franklin Pierce Center for IP, Univ. of NH), Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich), Professor Raquel Xalabarder (University Oberta de Catalunya) and Professor Martin Kretschmer (Create Centre, University of Glasgow) expressed their views on a number of subjects.

Whilst enlightening research figures from Professor Martin Kretschmer show similarities with the earnings of literary authors, and in many cases the lack thereof, there was general agreement that the aim of Chapter III of the 2019 Copyright Directive is the redistribution of income to authors and performers.

Adj. Professor Dr Silke von Lewinski and Professor Raquel Xalabarder stated that the only efficient solution to guarantee remuneration to performers, notably for the implementation of article 18 in the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, would be one based on collective management.

In particular, this should be done via a model based on the Rental Directive 2006/115/EC, as also referred to by Professor André Lucas, granting performers a statutory residual remuneration right (upon the transfer of the exclusive right to the producer) which in their opinion may be extended to other rights including to the exclusive right for making available on demand.

“Such a remuneration right does not “add” or “extend” rights to performers but rather it “secures” the payment of proportionate remuneration to performers for the exploitation of their performances”, stated Professor Xalabarder.

This has been a goal of AEPO-ARTIS for many years.

For more information:
Visit www.aepo-artis.org or contact the Secretariat

Tel.: 02 280 19 34
Email: aepo-artis@aepo-artis.org