AfterDawn: News

Recording Industry heads target German piracy

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with heads of the international recording industry in Berlin to hear their concerns and suggestions regarding music piracy in Germany. The leaders of the recording industry urged the Chancellor to ensure that the industry had the tools it needed to combat piracy, the "epidemic" of CD-R burning be tackled and ISPs be engaged in the fight against Internet piracy.

German music sales have dropped a massive 50% since 2000. The industry blames this huge drop mostly on CD-R burning and Internet piracy. "The international recording industry has now taken its concerns about the state of the German music market to the highest political level in Europe. We left the meeting appreciative of the fact that the Chancellor understood the nature of the problems we are facing and is willing to play a role in seeking a solution to them," IFPI Chairman and CEO, John Kennedy, said.



He added: "If the German government acts now, we are confident that the German music industry could reverse the decline and be viable again in three to five years." Another great reason to meet with Chancellor Merkel however is the fact that she also is the President of the European Council and the G8. This extra political advantage is seen in what the recording industry suggests Merkel call the German government to do:

• Introduce an obligation on ISPs to terminate service to subscribers abusing the service to make infringing content available
  
• Permit CD burning only from own legally purchased original and prohibiting copying by third parties
  
• Improve the German draft law implementing the EU Enforcement Directive to ensure proper tools to fight piracy
  
• Ensure that the EU plays an active role in the WTO case against China on Intellectual Property enforcement and market access
  
• Urge the Czech government to clean up the huge pirate markets on the Czech-German border
  
• Support an improvement in the length of the EU term of protection on sound recordings to match the level of protection provided in the U.S.

Not really sure what the China WTO case or the copyright terms for sound recordings have to do with German music sales.

Source:
Press Release

Written by: James Delahunty @ 9 May 2007 15:52

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• 7 comments

• borhan9

  Quote:Permit CD burning only from own legally purchased original and prohibiting copying by third partiesThis i agree with but how is this possible when 2 things are occuring.
  
  1. Prices of CD's are too high for albums and the quality of music out there has lowered drastically.
  
  2 How can we achieve this when their is full of DRM crapp on the CD's.

  9.5.2007 17:21 #1

• duckNrun

  Quote:Permit CD burning only from own legally purchased original and prohibiting copying by third partiesgee I wish they held this belief when it comes to AMERICAN consumers. Over here they tend to say that people shouldn't be able to make copies to be used for private use instead stating that people should have to rebuy the music if they want it on their iPids or whatever else...
  
  and yes spelling was intentional lol

  9.5.2007 21:10 #2

• Tashammer

  Hmm, i have a little problem wherever, whenever, however, and whoever foments, incites, radicalises and/or attempts or endeavours to attempt the institution of greed and/or money grubbing.
  
  In fact, i would go even further and suggest that the above is a Capital offence against Humankind and the Planet.
  
  There is a simple reason and that is such activities do nothing to develop us or enhance our "higher" selves. Instead they drag us down into the morass of selfishness and thence into the pit of depravity where anything goes in the pursuit of $.
  
  The Darkside is found in the "I" and "me", the Lightside is in "us" and "we".
  
  The sucker people, human lampreys who attach themselves to the body politic seem to be mainly lawyers and accountants - these sub-species are purely parasitic destroying their hosts. The politician sub-specie has a dual option in that it may become parasitic or it may become a lot more useful and live in a symbiotic relationship on the body politic.
  
  Where the parasite, for example, the DRM fomentors, endeavour to effect destructive changes to what may well have been a symbiotic creature, e.g. the Chancellor then there is a need to remove both the parasite and symbiote root and branch and then to sterilize the area.

  10.5.2007 01:54 #3

• Blackjax

  Let me translate......
  
  Quote:Introduce an obligation on ISPs to terminate service to subscribers abusing the service to make infringing content availableWe paid good money to buy your government so if we even think your on a p2p we'll have your service shut off!
  
  Quote:Permit CD burning only from own legally purchased original and prohibiting copying by third parties
  Yeah right you really think we'll ever let fair use come into play here!
  
  Quote:Improve the German draft law implementing the EU Enforcement Directive to ensure proper tools to fight piracy
  Again we paid good money for your politicians! So be more like US politicians.
  
  Quote:Ensure that the EU plays an active role in the WTO case against China on Intellectual Property enforcement and market access
  
  Urge the Czech government to clean up the huge pirate markets on the Czech-German border
  We paid enough money out so we're going to push as much as we can even if you can't stop it!
  
  Quote:Support an improvement in the length of the EU term of protection on sound recordings to match the level of protection provided in the U.S.
  
  A millenia would be good for profit margin but will settle for 100 years with a the option to change it when we fell like it. Pffft to hell with public works they suck!
  
  Will the ceaseless dribble ever stop from these people? OK I know dumb question!

  10.5.2007 03:06 #4

• tucker001

  The downloaders arent the pirates assholes the "scene" are the ones you should be after.
  
  I'm putting this in not technical terms lets say my buddy cammed spiderman 3 on a vhs tape and sold copies of it to some people. The MPAA will probably go after the people who bought the tape not the guy who created it.

  10.5.2007 07:43 #5

• warvick

  Do they know that they are killing the cd market them selfs when will this end umm let me see when there are no more cd sales. Do they relize it is not only pirates who are taken the market down it is the internet there are tons of online music sites such as itunes and napster i used to be a buyer of cds bought at least 1 to 4 a month witch got to costly so now i have a account with Napster i have not even bought a single cd in over 2 years and i dont even touch my cd collection in fact i will be puting them up for sale this summer in my lawn sale
  
  i think in 5 to 10 years there will be something else out that will take out the cd market if this keeps up
  
  Why are the music industroy going nuts now about music pirates people have been recording on blank media for a very long time and sharing it with friends used to be thats how a band got big leting others hear your recording

  12.5.2007 05:52 #6

• thommo02

  It all comes back to the almighty dollar. Bugger the consumer just give them what WE (The provider/producer) want to give them don't take any notice of the consumers wants. Also lets just blame everything on piracy and not look into why sales are falling in a particular area but going up in others. They want their cake and to be able to eat it as well. Time for these people to start living in the REAL world and catching up with the changing trends that are taking place.

  12.5.2007 14:31 #7