SOUND RECORDINGS - DUE FOR LONGER COPYRIGHT? AND WHERE EXACTLY IS MELTON MOWBRAY?

Off the record - should sound recording copyright be extended?

The IPKat's friend Ben Challis has just written a piece on his blog, Music Law Updates, asking whether the UK recording industry should have new obligations as well as new rights if the copyright term for sound recordings is extended from its current 50 years to a whopping 95 years.

The IPKat notes that, 50 years ago, most people knew the same songs (whether they liked them or not) because there was a more homogenous culture - but now that the market has been so segmented by age, aspiration, ethnic origin and other factors - and fashions in music change so quickly, he reckons that it will only be in a small minority of cases that sound recordings will have much more than quaint curiosity value after 50 years anyway. Merpel asks, what will benefit the public more: extension of protection so that businesses will be tempted to invest in the continued provision of old recordings in enhanced formats, or the refusal to extend rights in order that a competitive market be allowed to develop for the provision of those recordings?


Pork pies go to Luxembourg: but what is the question?

The IPKat has recently posted his musings on Northern Foods Ltd v DEFRA (the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie case, judgment on BAILII here). That decision has resulted in the reference of a single, remarkably fact-specific, question for a preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice:

Right: Melton Mowbray pieman in search of the perfect pig ...
Left: this little piggie finds a cool way of escaping the Melton Mowbray pie-makers.

The IPKat thanks Michael Edenborough for his kindness in letting him have sight of the Order for the reference. Merpel says, this should have the ECJ judges scuttling off to get their gazetteers and road maps.