Register of Copyrights advocates repeal of compulsory licensing under Section 115
Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters testified today before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and IP, on the issue of music licensing reform.
She advocates repeal of the compulsory license under Section 115, which provides for statutory licensing of nondramatic musical works for the making and distribution of physical phonorecords and digital phonorecord deliveries. Her testimony includes a discussion draft of proposed legislation titled the "21st Century Music Reform Act".
Excerpts:
"As a matter of principle, I believe that the Section 115 license should be repealed and that licensing of rights should be left to the marketplace, most likely by means of collective administration."
"My proposal, tentatively entitled the 21st Century Music Reform Act, addresses many of the above-identified problems and attempts to strike the appropriate balance between the rights of copyright owners and the needs of the users in a digital world. The overarching purpose is to remove the statutory barriers which presently inhibit the music industry's ability to clear rights in order to open the licensing structure to free market competition."
"This proposal effectively substitutes a collective licensing structure for the existing Section 115 compulsory license. It accomplishes this by setting forth rights and obligations for the newly-defined music rights organizations (“MRO”). The basic defining characteristic of an MRO is that it is authorized by a copyright owner to license the public performance of nondramatic musical works. But in fact, the proposed legislation would authorize the MRO to license the reproduction and distribution rights as well. An MRO would be authorized, and required with respect to digital audio transmissions, to license the reproduction and distribution rights of any nondramatic musical work for which it was authorized to license the public performance right."
This proposal needs careful review. Peters indicates in her testimony that: "As always, my focus is primarily on the author. The author should be fairly compensated for all non-privileged uses of his work." However we hope that the public interest side of the copyright equation is being considered by the Copyright Office in this proposal.
Except for the consent-decree issues with the public performance societies, a collective licensing approach could ostensibly be done today without legislation -- this proposal appears to focus on eliminating the assurance that a license can be had, as well as the statutory rate for same. According to Peters: "I recognize that if the proposal is enacted, some current music industry participants may have to adjust their business practices to maintain their current levels of profitability without the artificial rate ceiling afforded by the statutory license."
TrackBack URL for this entry:
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'Register of Copyrights advocates repeal of compulsory licensing under Section 115' from Silicon Valley Media Law Blog.
