Fair play for musicians
Encyclopedia
Fair play for musicians is a full-page advertisement that was published on 7 December 2006 in the Financial Times
newspaper calling on the UK Government to extend the existing 50 years copyright
protection for sound recordings in the United Kingdom
. It consisted of around 4,500 names in small print filling the full page and its style was consistent with other newspaper petitions. The text "fair play for musicians" appeared in large red type over the list of names. In the center of the page a box contained the text:
At the bottom of the page the following text appeared:
The 'fair play for musicians' advertisement was viewed as a direct response to the Gowers Review published by the British Government on 6 December 2006 which recommended the retention of the 50 year protection for sound recordings. The advertisement was organised by Phonographic Performance Limited
as another element of their campaign for retrospective copyright term extension.
The advertisement was controversial as it was seen as another step in a protracted campaign to influence British Government policy, and gave rise to worldwide media coverage, which was unusual for issues of copyright term policy. The advertisement's inclusions of a number of deceased musicians raised suspicions that it was not a genuine representation of the wishes of the musicians listed. Prominent law professor Lawrence Lessig
criticised the advertisement for being misleading and declared the date of its publication, December 7, was "a date which will live in infamy." The date is the same as Pearl Harbor
attack and Lessig was alluding to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous statement.
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
newspaper calling on the UK Government to extend the existing 50 years copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
protection for sound recordings in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It consisted of around 4,500 names in small print filling the full page and its style was consistent with other newspaper petitions. The text "fair play for musicians" appeared in large red type over the list of names. In the center of the page a box contained the text:
- "We call upon the UK Government to support the extension of copyright in sound recordings."
At the bottom of the page the following text appeared:
- "On behalf of over 3,500 record companies and 40,000 performers"
The 'fair play for musicians' advertisement was viewed as a direct response to the Gowers Review published by the British Government on 6 December 2006 which recommended the retention of the 50 year protection for sound recordings. The advertisement was organised by Phonographic Performance Limited
Phonographic Performance Limited
PPL is the London-based United Kingdom music licensing company which undertakes collective rights management of recorded music and music videos for public performance, broadcast and new media use...
as another element of their campaign for retrospective copyright term extension.
The advertisement was controversial as it was seen as another step in a protracted campaign to influence British Government policy, and gave rise to worldwide media coverage, which was unusual for issues of copyright term policy. The advertisement's inclusions of a number of deceased musicians raised suspicions that it was not a genuine representation of the wishes of the musicians listed. Prominent law professor Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
criticised the advertisement for being misleading and declared the date of its publication, December 7, was "a date which will live in infamy." The date is the same as Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
attack and Lessig was alluding to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's famous statement.