Publishers Keep Pressure On German Government

In a bid to draw legislators' attention to the dire consequences of a bill planned to amend national copyright law, German music publishers are continuing a communications exercise with all the country's members of parliament (MPs), as well as individual state prime ministers. The bill is due to be heard in German parliament later this year.

The amendments to copyright contract law proposed by the German Federal Ministry of Justice include a provision for authors to terminate contracts after 30 years, which means there is a possibility of avoiding the copyright period normally ending 70 years after the author's death. If the changes are approved, music publishers' contractual partners would be able to terminate their contracts prematurely.

Gabriele Schulze-Spahr, chairwoman of the Legal Committee of the German Assn. of Music Publishers (DMV), appealed to DMV members to exert massive pressure on MPs in the German states and impress upon them the risk posed to music publishers' existence.

"The next few weeks and months will decide our fate," Schulze-Spahr says. "The resolutions will be passed in the federal cabinet and then in the lower and upper houses of parliament. Each individual member of parliament has a vote determining the future of our companies. That is why we must approach each individual MP to explain what is at stake for publishers."

Schulze-Spahr stresses that DMV has repeatedly expressed constructive criticism and made proposals for a fair act in discussions with the Ministry of Justice and other political bodies, as well as in talks with MPs.

Encouragingly, a statement by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder promised to ensure that small publishers would not be placed at an undue disadvantage by the new act.

The first reading of the amended act has already been held in the lower house. The draft was then referred to that body's legal committee. This referral gives the DMV another opportunity to express its views.