Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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# 92000E1728

**WRITTEN QUESTION E-1728/00 by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE), Ulpu Iivari (PSE) and Michel Rocard (PSE) to the Council. Safeguarding of European music copyright in the United States.** 
  
*Official Journal 072 E , 06/03/2001 P. 0106 - 0106*

  

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1728/00

by Ioannis Souladakis (PSE), Ulpu Iivari (PSE) and Michel Rocard (PSE) to the Council

(5 June 2000)

Subject: Safeguarding of European music copyright in the United States

According to existing legislation in the United States, restaurants, bars and similar enterprises in the country are exempted from paying copyright fees on music played at their premises. Consequently, European music played at these enterprises loses its share of copyright payments. Recently, the WTO accused the USA of violating the international copyright standards on music. To date, no measures have been taken in the United States to correct the situation. Therefore, European music production still loses a large amount of income.

What measures will the Council take to safeguard the rights of European music played in the aforementioned enterprises in the United States?

Reply

(28 September 2000)

In the matter referred to by the honourable Parliamentarians, i.e. Section 110(5) of the United States Copyright Act as amended by the Fairness in Music Licensing Act (enacted on 27 October 1998), the EC and its Member States have consistently acted to bring about changes to this law which would ensure that the interests of European singers and songwriters would be effectively protected in the United States.

In particular, in the framework of the WTO, the EC and its Member States have requested and obtained the establishment of a panel under Article 6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) and Article 64.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). The panel has made a report which was circulated on 15 June 2000.

In the report, the panel concludes that parts of the relevant US legislation do not meet the requirements of the TRIPS Agreement and recommends that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body request the United States to bring its Act into conformity with US obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.

A party to the dispute has sixty days from the date of circulation of the report to appeal to the WTO Appellate Body. This period will elapse on 14 August 2000 and the Council will then be able to take stock of the situation and assess, notably through the Article 133 Committee, how best to pursue European interests in this matter, in accordance with WTO rules.

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