On the 14th September the UK government opened a consultation on the Beijing Treaty On Audiovisual Performances, closing on November 9th. This follows the government’s calls for views in 2021 and sets out possible options for implementing the treaty.
What is the Beijing Treaty On Audiovisual Performances?
The Beijing Treaty On Audiovisual Performances, which was implemented in 2012, provides rights specifically for audiovisual fixations. Audiovisual fixations can be visual recordings in any form, including films, music videos and television programmes.
The current UK law gives performers intellectual property rights to control the use of
their audiovisual performances but UK performers are often not eligible for equivalent rights in other countries. By joining The Beijing Treaty On Audiovisual Performances, UK performers will be given protection rights abroad in treaty countries. However, the treaty is not yet in force in the EU or US.
The proposed changes.
The following are a summary of provisional rights that will amend parts of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. If implemented, the order will apply to acts done before and after the commencement of the order, but no infringements occurring before the commencement will be considered.
- The definition of “performers” in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is expanded to improvised performances created or first fixed in the course of performing a literary work.
- Performers shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorising the making available to the public of their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations.
- Performers shall enjoy the exclusive right of authorising the broadcasting and communication to the public of their performances fixed in audiovisual fixations.
- Even after the transfer rights, the performer shall have the right: to be identified as the performer of their performances and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of his performances that would be prejudicial to their reputation.
The treaty has a minimum turn of 50 years, and can continue even after the performer’s death.
Possible effects of the treaty.
The treaty coming into effect will give a performer a lot more rights on how their performances are shared. A performer will have the right to be fully credited for their performances and object to any possible changes, allowing them to control how and where their performances are published. The definition of “performers” will also become wider, giving performers like street performers the same rights as movie stars.
Criticisms of the treaty are that it takes away from free speech, and it gives performers too much control of their work. Performers will no longer have to copyright their work in order to have their performances removed at their request. This could result in performers removing reviews or parodies of their work that they do not like, limiting fair use. Video creators that use clips of tv shows or films could also have all of their work removed if the actors involved chose to.
Conclusion
The Beijing Treaty On Audiovisual Performances will give performers more rights but it will also have a big effect on copyright laws and could be seen as taking away free speech. The UK government’s open consultation sets out provisional rights that are subject to change, and may not be implemented. The treaty coming into effect will be a big moment in UK copyright law and will be watched closely by many. The consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/beijing-treaty-on-audiovisual-performances.
