1995 No. 3297
COPYRIGHT
RIGHTS IN PERFORMANCES

The Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995

Made
Coming into force

Whereas a draft of the following Regulations has been approved by resolution of each House of Parliament:

Now, therefore, the Secretary of State, being a Minister designatedM1 for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972M2 in relation to measures relating to the protection of copyright and rights in performances, in exercise of powers conferred by section 2(2) and (4) of the said Act of 1972, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Part I Introductory Provisions

Citation, commencement and extent1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the Duration of Copyright and Rights in Performances Regulations 1995.

(2)

These Regulations come into force on 1st January 1996.

(3)

These Regulations extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Interpretation2.

In these Regulations—

“EEA Agreement" means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 M3, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993 M4; and

F1EEA state” means a member State, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway.

Implementation of Directive, &c.3.

These Regulations make provision for the purpose of implementing—

(a)

the main provisions of Council Directive No. 93/98/EEC of 29th October 1993 M5 harmonizing the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights; and

(b)

certain obligations of the United Kingdom created by or arising under the EEA Agreement so far as relevant to the implementation of that Directive.

Annotations:
Marginal Citations

M5O.J. No. L290, 24.11.93, p.9.

Scheme of the regulations4.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 M6 is amended in accordance with the provisions of Part II of these Regulations, subject to the savings and transitional provisions in Part III of these Regulations.

Part II Amendments of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

Rights in performances

Duration of rights in performances10.

In Part II (rights in performances), for section 191 (duration of rights) substitute—

“191. Duration of rights.

(1)

The following provisions have effect with respect to the duration of the rights conferred by this Part.

(2)

The rights conferred by this Part in relation to a performance expire—

(a)

at the end of the period of 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the performance takes place, or

(b)

if during that period a recording of the performance is released, 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is released,

subject as follows.

(3)

For the purposes of subsection (2) a recording is “released" when it is first published, played or shown in public, broadcast or included in a cable programme service; but in determining whether a recording has been released no account shall be taken of any unauthorised act.

(4)

Where a performer is not a national of an EEA state, the duration of the rights conferred by this Part in relation to his performance is that to which the performance is entitled in the country of which he is a national, provided that does not exceed the period which would apply under subsections (2) and (3).

(5)

If or to the extent that the application of subsection (4) would be at variance with an international obligation to which the United Kingdom became subject prior to 29th October 1993, the duration of the rights conferred by this Part shall be as specified in subsections (2) and (3).”.

Supplementary

Meaning of EEA national and EEA state11.

(1)

In Chapter X of Part I (miscellaneous and general provisions), after section 172 insert—

“172A. Meaning of EEA national and EEA state.

(1)

In this Part—

“EEA national" means a national of an EEA state; and

“EEA state" means a state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement.

(2)

References in this Part to a person being an EEA national shall be construed in relation to a body corporate as references to its being incoporated under the law of an EEA state.

(3)

The “EEA Agreement" means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992, as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993.”.

(2)

In section 179 (index of defined expressions: Part I), at the appropriate place insert—

“EEA national and EEA state

section 172A”.

(3)

In section 211(1) (expressions in Part II having same meaning as in Part I), at the appropriate place insert—

“EEA national,”.

(4)

In section 212 (index of defined expressions: Part II), at the appropriate place insert—

“EEA national

section 211(1) (and section 172A)”.

Part III Savings and transitional provisions

Introductory

Introductory12.

(1)

References in this Part to “commencement", without more, are to the date on which these Regulations come into force.

(2)

In this Part—

“the 1988 Act" means the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 M8;

“the 1988 provisions" means the provisions of that Act as they stood immediately before commencement (including the provisions of Schedule 1 to that Act continuing the effect of earlier enactments); and

“the new provisions" means the provisions of that Act as amended by these Regulations.

(3)

Expressions used in this Part which are defined for the purposes of Part I or II of the 1988 Act, in particular references to the copyright owner, have the same meaning as in that Part.

Films not protected as such13.

In relation to a film in which copyright does not or did not subsist as such but which is or was protected—

(a)

as an original dramatic work, or

(b)

by virtue of the protection of the photographs forming part of the film,

references in the new provisions, and in this Part, to copyright in a film are to any copyright in the film as an original dramatic work or, as the case may be, in photographs forming part of the film.

Rights in performances

Rights in performances: interpretation27.

(1)

In the provisions of this Part relating to rights in performances—

(a)

“existing", in relation to a performance, means given before commencement; and

(b)

“existing protected performance" means a performance in relation to which rights under Part II of the 1988 act (rights in performances) subsisted immediately before commencement.

(2)

References in this Part to performers’ rights are to the rights given by section 180(1)(a) of the 1988 Act and references to recording rights are to the rights given by section 180(1)(b) of that Act.

Duration of rights in performances: general saving28.

Any rights under Part II of the 1988 Act in an existing protected performance shall continue to subsist until the date on which they would have expired under the 1988 provisions if that date is later than the date on which the rights would expire under the new provisions.

Duration of rights in performances: application of new provisions29.

The new provisions relating to the duration of rights under Part II of the 1988 Act apply—

(a)

to performances taking place after commencement;

(b)

to existing performances which first qualify for protection under Part II of the 1988 Act after commencement;

(c)

to existing protected performances, subject to Regulation 28 (general saving for any longer period applicable under 1988 provisions); and

(d)

to existing performances—

(i)

in which rights under Part II of the 1988 Act expired after the commencement of that Part and before 31st December 1995, or

(ii)

which were protected by earlier enactments relating to the protection of performers and in which rights under that Part did not arise by reason only that the performance was given at a date such that the rights would have ceased to subsist before the commencement of that Part,

but which were on 1st July 1995 protected in F8an EEA state under legislation relating to copyright or related rights.

Extended and revived performance rights30.

In the following provisions of this Part—

“extended performance rights" means rights under Part II of the 1988 Act which subsist by virtue of the new provisions after the date on which they would have expired under the 1988 provisions; and

“revived performance rights" means rights under Part II of the 1988 Act which subsist by virtue of the new provisions—

  1. (a)

    after having expired under the 1988 provisions, or

  2. (b)

    in relation to a performance which was protected by earlier enactments relating to the protection of performers and in which rights under that Part did not arise by reason only that the performance was given at a date such that the rights would have ceased to subsist before the commencement of that Part.

References in the following provisions of this Part to “revived pre-1988 rights" are to revived performance rights within paragraph (b) of the above definition.

Entitlement to extended or revived performance rights31.

(1)

Any extended performance rights are exercisable as from commencement by the person who was entitled to exercise those rights immediately before commencement, that is—

(a)

in the case of performers’ rights, the performer or (if he has died) the person entitled by virtue of section 192(2) of the 1988 Act to exercise those rights;

(b)

in the case of recording rights, the person who was within the meaning of section 185 of the 1988 Act the person having those rights.

(2)

Any revived performance rights are exercisable as from commencement—

(a)

in the case of rights which expired after the commencement of the 1988 Act, by the person who was entitled to exercise those rights immediately before they expired;

(b)

in the case of revived pre-1988 performers’ rights, by the performer or his personal representatives;

(c)

in the case of revived pre-1988 recording rights, by the person who would have been the person having those rights immediately before the commencement of the 1988 Act or, if earlier, immediately before the death of the performer, applying the provisions of section 185 of that Act to the circumstances then obtaining.

(3)

Any remuneration or damages received by a person’s personal representatives by virtue of a right conferred on them by paragraph (1) or (2) shall devolve as part of that person’s estate as if the right had subsisted and been vested in him immediately before his death.

Extended performance rights: existing consents, agreement, &c.32.

Any consent, or any term or condition of an agreement, relating to the exploitation of an existing protected performance which—

(a)

subsists immediately before commencement, and

(b)

is not to expire before the end of the period for which rights under Part II of the 1988 Act subsist in relation to that performance,

shall continue to subsist during the period of any extended performance rights, subject to any agreement to the contrary.

Revived performance rights: saving for acts of exploitation when performance in public domain, &c.33.

(1)

No act done before commencement shall be regarded as infringing revived performance rights in a performance.

(2)

It is not an infringement of revived performance rights in a performance—

(a)

to do anything after commencement in pursuance of arrangements made before 1st January 1995 at a time when the performance was not protected, or

(b)

to issue to the public after commencement a recording of a performance made before 1st July 1995 at a time when the performance was not protected.

(3)

It is not an infringement of revived performance rights in a performance to do anything after commencement in relation to a sound recording or film made before commencement, or made in pursuance of arrangements made before commencement, which contains a recording of the performance if—

(a)

the recording of the performance was made before 1st July 1995 at a time when the performance was not protected, or

(b)

the recording of the performance was made in pursuance of arrangements made before 1st July 1995 at a time when the performance was not protected.

(4)

It is not an infringement of revived performance rights in a performance to do after commencement anything at a time when, or in pursuance of arrangements made at a time when, the name and address of a person entitled to authorise the act cannot by reasonable inquiry be ascertained.

(5)

In this Regulation “arrangements" means arrangements for the exploitation of the performance in question.

(6)

References in this Regulation to a performance being protected are—

(a)

in relation to the period after the commencement of the 1988 Act, to rights under Part II of that Act subsisting in relation to the performance, and

(b)

in relation to earlier periods, to the consent of the performer being required under earlier enactments relating to the protection of performers.

Revived performance rights: use as of right subject to reasonable remunerationF934.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Revived performance rights: application to Copyright TribunalF1035.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Supplementary

Construction of references to EEA states36.

(1)

For the purpose of the new provisions relating to the term of copyright protection applicable to a work of which the country of origin is not an EEA state and of which the author is not a national of an EEA state—

(a)

a work first published before 1st July 1995 shall be treated as published in an EEA state if it was on that date regarded under the law of the United Kingdom or F11an EEA state as having been published in that state;

(b)

an unpublished film made before 1st July 1995 shall be treated as originating in an EEA state if it was on that date regarded under the law of the United Kingdom or F11an EEA state as a film whose maker had his headquarters in, or was domiciled or resident in, that state; and

(c)

the author of a work made before 1st July 1995 shall be treated as an EEA national if he was on that date regarded under the law of the United Kingdom or F11an EEA state as a national of that state.

The references above to the law of F11an EEA state are to the law of that state having effect for the purposes of rights corresponding to those provided for in Part I of the 1988 Act.

(2)

For the purposes of the new provisions relating to the term of protection applicable to a performance where the performer is not a national of an EEA state, the performer of a performance given before 1st July 1995 shall be treated as an EEA national if he was on that date regarded under the law of the United Kingdom or F12an EEA state as a national of that state.

The reference above to the law of F12an EEA state is to the law of that state having effect for the purposes of rights corresponding to those provided for in Part II of the 1988 Act.

F13(3)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ian Taylor,
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State For Science and Technology,
Department of Trade and Industry

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement all of those provisions of Council Directive No. 93/98/EEC (O.J. No. L 290, 24.11.93, p. 9) (“the Directive") which harmonise the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights. The Regulations come into force on 1st January 1996.

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“the Act") already grants some of the terms of protection required by the Directive. These regulations amend and extend the Act insofar as its provisions do not conform to or comply with the requirements of the Directive. They also implement in respect of that Act, insofar as required by, or consequential upon the modifications made in implementation of the Directive, the obligation imposed by the European Economic Area Act 1993 in accordance with the United Kingdom’s obligations under the European Economic Area Agreement, to substitute for any reference to a Member State of the European Community, a reference to an EEA State.

The provisions of the Directive harmonising the duration of copyright increase the existing period of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works in the United Kingdom from the life of the author plus 50 years, to the life the author plus 70 years. The manner in which the duration of copyright in films is calculated is modified by the Directive so as to be similar in length to that of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works although based on the life not of the author of a film, but of certain persons connected with the film. The starting point for calculation of the present 50 year period of protection of rights in performances is also modified by the Directive with the result that the overall duration of those rights will, in some cases, increase. The Directive also requires reciprocal duration of copyright and performer’s rights in the case of works and performances connected with countries not members of the EEA.

Transitional provisions have the following effect where the period of protection is increased:

—in relation to duration of copyright, in the case of works in which copyright subsists on 31st December 1995, the duration of copyright is extended from 1st January 1996; in the case of works in which copyright has expired in the United Kingdom before 1st July 1995, but which are protected on that date under the copyright legislation of any other State in the EEA, copyright will revive on 1st January 1996 and will then expire on a date 70 years after the author’s death;

—in relation to duration of rights in performances, to provide for both extending and reviving rights in performances where this occurs as a result of the application of the modified starting point for calculating the term of protection of existing performances.

The provisions of Part II of the Regulations, which amend the Act:

(a)

increase the duration of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works of known authorship to life plus 70 years; make new provision for the duration of copyright in films to be linked to the lives of persons connected with a film and to last until 70 years after the death of the last of those persons to die; increase the duration of copyright in respect of works of unknown authorship to 70 years after the date upon which the work is either made, or if made available to the public during that period, from the date upon which it is first made available (regulations 5 and 6);

(b)

make provision for reciprocal duration of copyright in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films, sound recordings and broadcasts connected with countries other than EEA States, such that the period of protection granted in the United Kingdom to those works is that granted under the legislation of the country of origin of the work, or (in the case of sound recordings and broadcasts) of which the author is a national, subject, however, to application of this provision not being at variance with any international obligation to which the United Kingdom became subject prior to 29th October 1993 (regulations 5, 6, 7 and 8);

(c)

modify the meaning of “released", in connection with the calculation of the duration of copyright in sound recordings so as to include “playing in public" (regulation 6);

(d)

make consequential amendments to existing provisions relating to acts permitted on assumptions as to the expiry of copyright on the death of the author (regulation 5);

(e)

make similar provision in relation to acts permitted on assumptions as to the expiry of copyright in a film on the death of persons by reference to whose life the copyright period in a film is ascertained (regulation 6);

(f)

make provision for a sound track accompanying a film to be treated as part of the film for the purposes of Part I of the Act (regulation 9);

(g)

modify existing provisions relating to the duration of rights in a performance such that these rights are protected for 50 years from when the performance takes place, of if a recording of the performance is released within that period, for 50 years from when the recording is first released; and also such that, where a performer is not a national of an EEA State, the duration of rights in the performance is that accorded in the country of which the performer is a national in similar manner to the provision on reciprocal duration of copyright (regulation 10);

Part III of the Regulations (which contains the transitional provisions and savings), provides—

(a)

for the Regulations to apply not only to works made after 1st January 1996 but also to works made before that date (regulation 14);

(b)

for the saving of any period of copyright which would be longer than that to which a work might otherwise be entitled under the Regulations (regulation 15);

(c)

for those Regulations which increase the duration of copyright in the United Kingdom to life plus seventy years to apply not only to works made after 1st January 1996 but also to works made before that date in which copyright continues to subsist on 31st December 1995, and further, to apply to works made, and in which copyright in the United Kingdom expired, before that date but which were protected on 1st July 1995 under legislation relating to copyright in any other EEA State: extended and revived copyright (regulations 16 and 17);

(d)

for the determination of the ownership of both extended and revived copyright (regulations 18, 19 and 20);

(e)

in relation to extended copyright, for any licence, term or condition of an agreement or waiver or assertation of moral rights, or any such licence, term or condition imposed by the Copyright Tribunal, effective throughout the duration of the original period of copyright, to continue throughout the period of extended copyright (regulation 21);

(f)

who is to exercise moral rights in respect of a revived copyright (regulation 22);

(g)

a saving in respect of arrangements made before 1st January 1995 so that any acts done after 1st January 1996 in pursuance of such arrangements are not to be infringements of revived copyright (regulation 23);

(h)

a saving in respect of the issue to the public after 1st January 1996 of copies of a revived copyright work made before 1st July 1995 and at a time when copyright in the revived work had expired (regulation 23);

(i)

a saving for acts done in respect of revived copyright works after 1st January 1996, where the owner of the right cannot be found by reasonable inquiry (regulation 23);

(j)

a saving for acts done after 1st January 1996 in respect of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or film which contains a copy of, or is an adaptation of, a revived work and the copy or adaptation was made before 1st July 1995, or in pursuance of arrangements made before that date and at a time when copyright did not subsist in the revived work (regulation 23);

(k)

for a licence of right to do any of the acts restricted by copyright in respect of revived copyright works subject only to the payment of royalties or other payments as may be agreed or, in default of agreement, be fixed by the Copyright Tribunal, except where a licence could be granted by a licensing body (regulations 24 and 25);

(l)

for the saving of any period of protection of rights which would be longer than that to which a performance might otherwise be entitled under the Regulations (regulation 28);

(m)

for the Regulations which modify the starting point for the calculation of the duration of rights in performances in the United Kingdom to apply not only to performances taking place after 1st January 1996 but also to performances which take place before that date in which rights under Part II of the Act subsist on 31st December 1995 and further, to apply to performances in which rights under Part II of the Act, or under any earlier enactment, expired in the United Kingdom before 1st July 1995, in the event that they were protected on 1st July 1995 under legislation relating to copyright or related rights in any other EEA State: extended and revived performance rights (regulations 29 and 30);

(n)

for the determination of ownership of both extended and any revived performance rights (regulation 31);

(o)

in relation to extended and any revived performance rights, for savings corresponding to those made in respect of extended and revived copyright works, subject to necessary modifications (regulations 32 and 33);

(p)

for a licence of right to do any of the acts for which consent would otherwise be required in respect of a performance in which any revived performance rights subsist subject only to the payment of royalties or other payments as may be agreed or, in default of agreement, be fixed by the Copyright Tribunal (regulations 34 and 35).