Recording Industry Lobbied $1.5M in 1st Quarter 2008

From AP:

Recording industry spent $1.5 million in first quarter to lobby on piracy, Internet broadcasts

The Recording Industry Association of America spent more than $1.5 million in the first quarter to lobby on copyright theft and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

As the main trade group for music recording companies, RIAA lobbied the federal government on legislation to strengthen U.S. laws against counterfeiting and piracy, including online theft of music. Piracy is one of the top issues for RIAA, which says music theft results in $12.5 billion annually in terms of lost jobs and wages, tax reeves, personal income tax and lost corporate income and production taxes.

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Brit Gov't: File-Sharing Legislation by 2009

From Lars Brandle, Billboard:

The British government has vowed to take up the fight on illegal file-sharing as part of a multi-stage action plan intended to ensure the prosperity of the country's creative industries.

Should the recording industry fail to break its impasse with Internet service providers on P2P activity by early 2009, the government will take action by means of legislation.

It's one of 26 key commitments for government and industry, published today in "Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy."

In the absence of a voluntary solution between rights holders and ISPs, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport report claims that the government "will shortly consult on options for a statutory solution," with a view to implementing
legislation by April 2009.

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IFPI: Governments Should Force ISPs to Fight Music Piracy

From CNN:

Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires IFPI CEO John Kennedy, said that piracy was still was still a major problem for the music industry. "For every music track downloaded legally, 20 are downloaded illegally," he said.

Thursday the IFPI renewed calls for governments to intervene to force internet service providers, or ISPs, to play a bigger role against digital music piracy, which has contributed to the decline in music sales and has prompted a wave of lawsuits by the industry against unauthorized downloaders.

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From Telegraph:

Music Pirates 'Should Be Banned From Internet'

Canada: New Levies Proposed for iPods and Memory Cards

Canada follows Spain with potential digital tax on various music players and storage devices

From CTV:

Consumers could potentially be hit by a new tax on electronic storage devices such as iPods and blank memory cards in 2008.

The federal Copyright Board has given its approval for a special levy on iPods and other digital players because they can be used to copy movies and music.

The proposed levies range in price including:

85 cents for rewritable CDs and MiniDisc
$2 for 1 GB removable electronic memory cards
$25 for a digital audio recorder between 1 and 10 GBs
$75 for digital audio recorder of more than 30 GBs

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Spanish Parliament Approves Digital Tax

From Howell Llewellyn, Billboard:

The Spanish music industry received a belated $46 million Christmas present on Thursday when Parliament approved a new digital tax in its last full session before the general elections on March 9.

The so-called "digital canon" will apply to MP3 and MP4 players, mobile phones with MP3 recording capacity, and USB memory cards, and is expected to come into effect Jan. 15. It will apply a small charge to digital gadgets capable of recording music, film, photocopies, or any other form of intellectual property.

The Spanish government estimates that of the €100-115 million ($144-166 million) of "canon" that will be collected per year, some €32 million ($46 million) will go to the music industry. The figure is 100% greater than the current music industry "canon" charged on blank CDs, DVDs, CD and DVD recorders, printers and Xerox machines.

Labels' body Promusicae president Antonio Guisasola says, "this is a victory for the music industry, it is justice in the making. The [intellectual property] law forces us to live with private copying [of music by consumers], but without being compensated for loss of income [through non-purchase of music]. Now this will change."

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Major Copyright Bill Boosts Penalties, Creates New Agency

It might be safe to say that industry capitulation is a long shot at this point.

From Declan McCullagh, CNET News:

Top Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday introduced a sweeping 69-page bill that ratchets up civil penalties for copyright infringement, boosts criminal enforcement, and even creates a new federal agency charged with bringing about a national and international copyright crackdown.

"By providing additional resources for enforcement of intellectual property, we ensure that innovation and creativity will continue to prosper in our society," Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich) said in a statement.

The legislation, called the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act, or PRO IP Act, is throughly bipartisan. The top Republican, Lamar Smith of Texas, on the Judiciary committee is a sponsor. So is Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chair of the subcommittee that writes copyright law, and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).

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Media Ownership Bill Passes Senate Commerce Committee

From Radio Online:

A bill aimed at slowing the FCC's media ownership review, introduced by Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Trent Lott (R-MS) (pictured), has passed the Senate Commerce Committee. The bill would require the Commission to allow 90 days for public comment on any proposed changes to media ownership rules and would block the agency from voting later this month to revise the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.

If passed, the Dorgan-Lott bill would require the Commission to complete a separate proceeding on media consolidation's effect on localism along with publication of rule changes in the Federal Register some 90 days before a Commission vote, providing 60 days for public comment and 30 days for reply comments.

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Canada Moves to Reform Copyright Protection

From Robert Thompson, Reuters:

TORONTO (Billboard) - The Canadian music biz is breathing a sigh of relief after a government pledge to introduce long-awaited copyright legislation aimed at solving the country's music piracy problem.

The legislation might be introduced as soon as within the next few weeks. Caroline Grondin, spokesperson for the Industry Canada ministry, said the government is aware of the need to move quickly.

"Canada's Copyright Act needs to be reformed to respond to the challenges of the digital age," she said. "New protections proposed for the benefit of rights holders will seek to address online infringement as well as create a legal framework that encourages the rollout, by rights holders, of new business models."

Renewed interest in Canada's Copyright Act followed the announcement of the legislation in October's Conservative Party "throne speech," essentially a public list of the government's upcoming priorities. Industry sources told Billboard that the government has been under pressure from foreign countries to update the legislation, which could be introduced before Parliament begins its holiday break in December.

Graham Henderson, president of labels body the Canadian Recording Industry Assn. (CRIA), said the legislation will demonstrate the country's commitment to protecting its songwriters and musicians.

The effect of the existing 1921 legislation, underscored by a series of court cases, is that downloading a song or making files available for sharing does not constitute copyright infringement.

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