Performers’ Rights in International and European Legislation:

 Situation and Elements for Improvement

December 2014

 

1

Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2

 

Chapter 1: Right to an equitable remuneration for broadcasting and communication to the public of commercial phonograms .................................................................................... 6

 1.1 Legal framework ......................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................... 22 1.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 27

Chapter 2: Satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission ............................................. 30

 2.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 30 2.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................... 34 2.3 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 38

Chapter 3: Making available to the public of services on demand .................................... 39

 3.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 39 3.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................... 42 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 46

Chapter 4: Limitation of the reproduction right for private use ........................................ 47

 4.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 47 4.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................... 77 4.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 81

Chapter 5: Rental right .................................................................................................... 84

 5.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 84 5.2 Practice ..................................................................................................................... 90 5.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 93

Chapter 6: Dur

ation of the protection of performers’ rights

 ............................................. 94

 6.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 94 6.2 Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 98

Chapter 7: Directive on the Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights....... 99

 7.1 Legal framework ....................................................................................................... 99 7.2 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 100

Chapter 8: Conclusions and Key Recommendations ........................................................ 101

 8.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 101 8.2 Key Recommendations ........................................................................................... 112

 

2

Introduction

Under international, European and national legislations, performers are granted a protection for their performances in the field of music, audiovisual, dance or any other category of performing arts. Those

rights are generally called performers’ rights. Like authors’ rights, performers’ rights can be divided in

two categories: moral rights and economic rights.

Apart from the recognition of their creative contribution, the introduction of authors’ rights and performers’ rights has been mainly justified on

economic and cultural grounds. Financial rewards give artists the necessary incentives to create new work and contribute to their income. Recouping the investment by artists supports cultural development. It also safeguards employment and encourages new job creation. Abundant examples of this economic justification appear in the various European legislations in the

field of authors’ and performers’ rights. To give some examples, recital 7 of Directive 92/100/EEC

(recital 5 in 2006/115/EC codified version) reads as follows:

“Whereas the creative and ar 

tistic work of authors and performers necessitates an adequate income

as a basis for further creative and artistic work (…). The possibility for securing that income and

recouping that investment can be effectively guaranteed only through adequate legal protection of the

rightholders concerned”.

According to recital 4 of Directive 2001/29/EC:

“A harmonised legal framework on copyright and related rights, through increased legal certainty and

while providing for a high level of protection of intellectual property, will foster substantial investment

in creativity and innovation (…) and lead in turn to growth and increased competitiveness of European industry (…)”.

 

Recital 10 of the same Directive furthermore underlines that:

“If authors and performers are

 to continue their creative and artistic work, they have to receive an

appropriate reward for the use of their work (…). The investment required to produce products such as  phonograms, films or multimedia products, and services such as ‘on

-

demand services’ 

 , is considerable.  Adequate legal protection of intellectual property rights is necessary in order to guarantee the

availability of such a reward and provide the opportunity for satisfactory returns on this investment”.

 

European legislation relating to au

thors’ and performers’ rights clearly aims to give authors and

performers an instrument to allow them to make decisions about the use of their own creations and performances and to enable them to generate an adequate income for this exploitation. This instrument can consist of the recognition of exclusive rights - attributing to rightholders the decision-making power to authorise or to prohibit the use of their work - which supposedly gives them a strong bargaining position. Exclusive rights concern the fixation, reproduction, distribution, rental, broadcasting and communication to the public, and - to a limited extent - the making available on demand of performances.