NEW EDITION OF PERFORMERS' RIGHTS

The third edition of Richard Arnold QC's standard work Performers' Rights has now been published by Sweet & Maxwell. As Editor of the same publisher's Entertainment and Media Law Reports Richard is well placed to appreciate the subtle dynamics of this subject, wrongly regarded by many as an unattractive backwater of copyright and neighbouring rights law. At a time when performers find themselves increasingly competing with their own recordings or with synthesised music that makes them redundant, the need to identify and pay careful attention to the parameters of performance law has never been greater (in this context the IPKat also bears in mind the recent "Brick in the Wall" claims arising from children's performances dating from 1979, here and here (scroll the IPKat to 2 December)).

This edition takes into account the implementation of Directive 2001/29 (the Copyright Directive) into UK law and considers its impact on performers' rights. It also includes major developments in case law, such as Case C-245/00 SENA v NOS decision of the ECJ on equitable remuneration and the Experience Hendrix v PPX decision of the Court of Appeal on damages for breach of contract. Not only that, but the impact of the internet (especially in terms of file sharing), the present role of collecting societies and the problems of securing equitable remuneration are also discussed. There's also a new chapter on performers' contracts which deals with the terms relating to consent to exploitation which contrasts the legal requirements in respect of performers and exploiters.

Performers: having a hard time of it in the digital age

The IPKat likes the look and feel of this book, which he feels to be more sharply focused and crisply written than the earlier editions.