public.wsj.com
Europeans Hail U.S. Napster Decision
As Parliament Readies Copyright Law
By Brandon Mitchener
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
BRUSSELS -- Europe's music industry heralded a U.S. court's
condemnation of Napster as evidence that lawmakers debating
a new copyright law in Strasbourg should do more to prevent
digital piracy, but some people warned against overkill.
Philippe Kern, secretary general of the Independent Music
Companies Association, which represents second-tier
European music companies, said the judgment by a U.S.
appeals court showed "the importance of protecting the rights of
content providers on the Internet."
Impala called on the European Parliament, which is scheduled
to vote on a controversial draft law called the Copyright
Directive Wednesday, to acknowledge the importance of the
U.S. ruling and "vote for the highest possible level of copyright
protection" for music, film and other creative industries that
make the product of their labor available over the Internet.
But some companies campaigning for acceptable limits on legal,
private copying -- including some music groups -- said the
Parliament would go overboard if it banned all copying,
including some currently legal practices such as taping a
television broadcast in order to watch it later.
"Without Napster we might have had a fair Copyright
Directive," said Susanne Klunkert, European affairs manager
with the European Association of Consumer Electronics
Manufacturers. "With Napster, we risk having an unfair
Copyright Directive."
Daniel Vangarde, a French composer and music publisher who
works closely with Parisian techno band Daft Punk, said it was
important that lawmakers distinguish between legal and illegal
copying -- as the U.S. appeals court had done.
"The judgment shows that what Napster did wrong was infringe
copyrights," Mr. Vangarde said in a telephone interview from
Santa Clara, Calif., where he was discussing a new, digital
royalties management project with InterTrust Technologies
Corp.
"It's not against the technology," said Mr. Vangarde, referring to
the U.S. judgment, "it's against letting people use the technology
without asking the permission" of copyright owners.
German media giant Bertelsmann AG, which has joined
Napster in an attempt to develop a fee-paying business model,
said Tuesday it eventually expects free music exchanges to
disappear from the Internet.
Bertelsmann has promised much-needed capital if Napster
switches to a subscription-based service that pays artists'
royalties. In a statement Monday, Bertelsmann said, "Today's
decision is another step in the process of accommodating the
legitimate rights of copyright holders and the important interests
of Napster users."
"Bertelsmann is committed to implementing a win-win strategy,
one that secures and compensates the rights of artists,
copyrights holders and the music industry while also enabling
Napster to provide music lovers with a first-class file-sharing
system."
Write to Brandon Mitchener at brandon.mitchener@wsj.com |
