Intellectual property: term of protection of copyright and related rights

The Council took note of a progress report on a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of copyright and related rights. It asked its preparatory bodies to continue discussions with a view to finding solutions to the questions outstanding.

The report was drawn up by the Presidency on the basis of discussions held by the Council's experts following presentation by the Commission of the draft Directive in July 2008.

The draft Directive is intended mainly to extend the term of protection of related rights enjoyed by performers and phonogram producers. It also aims to improve the social situation of performers, in particular that of session musicians, given that performers increasingly live beyond the term of protection of their performances.

As this is a codecision draft law, the European Parliament is expected to give its opinion on the proposal at first reading in February 2009.