Letters | Hong Kong’s music industry would benefit from extension of copyright on sound recordings
- Extending the term of protection of sound recordings to at least 70 years will bring Hong Kong in line with the new global standard
- It will also boost the local music industry, which has seen declining sales of physical albums in recent years and live events cancelled during the pandemic
While new technology is giving older recordings originally on tape and LP records a new digital life, the current protection term of 50 years means these recordings will generate revenues for others after 50 years instead of for the copyright owners.
In recent years, a term of protection for sound recordings of 70 years or longer has become the global standard, adopted by over 60 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Our copyright law must keep pace to avoid the awkwardness of sound recordings passing into the public domain in Hong Kong while still being protected elsewhere.
Retaining a 50-year term of protection will discourage both foreign and local labels from investing in high-quality sound recordings. This is not beneficial to the development of Hong Kong’s creative industries and contrary to the core purpose of copyright law – to promote creativity and incentivise the creation and dissemination of work.
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A 70-year term of protection would grant record producers a longer period to develop the potential economic interest in their sound recordings, increasing revenues available for reinvestment in new artists and repertoires, while assuring artists their recordings have the potential to generate income during their lifetime.