London - November 3, 1998
IFPI, the organization representing the international recording industry,
today praised the United States Congress for its farsighted action in passing
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. IFPI called on the European Union and
governments worldwide to follow the US example by adopting legislation to
ratify the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Treaties. The
Treaties were concluded in 1996 and provide the crucial global framework for
trade and investment in music works in the digital era.
The DCMA was signed by President Clinton on October 28. The Act guarantees
important new rights to performers and producers of sound recordings, as well
as to authors of copyrighted works generally, including the right to make
sound recordings available by means of an interactive digital transmission,
the right to protect copyrighted works through technical measures installed by
authors and producers, and the right to protect the integrity of copyright
management information transmitted in a digital environment.
In addition, the DCMA enacts into law an agreed settlement respecting
liability of on-line intermediaries for copyright infringements initiated by
the users of their systems.
The US, the world's largest recorded music market, has demonstrated that now
is the time for applying the principles of copyright protection to the age of
the Internet. Its action in ratifying the WIPO Treaties is certain to spur
the development of safe, on-line commerce around the world and encourage other
countries to ratify the treaties.
Fifty states have signed both WIPO treaties, yet only five states have so far
ratified. IFPI urges the EU to move quickly to match the US in leading the
development of electronic commerce in a responsible, legal and globally
harmonized manner. IFPI also calls on the more than 100 other members of
WIPO, including more than 20 European states outside the EU, to make
ratification of the Treaties a top priority.