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In light of the scheduled February 9, 1988 hearings on the Berne adherence bills currently pending in the House of Representatives, the purpose of this letter is to express the support of The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) for the position taken by the performing rights societies ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC that the needs of juke box operators can be adequately addressed while still allowing the United States to adhere to the Berne Copyright Convention.

The numerous and overriding benefits to U.S. copyright owners which would arise through the United States' membership in the Berne Union have been documented extensively in the report of July 2, 1987, entitled "Why the United States Should Join the Berne Copyright Convention" (excerpts attached). This report was issued by The National Committee for the Berne Convention, a broad based coalition of groups in favor of Berne adherence of which NMPA is an active participant. It would be extremely unfortunate if these substantial benefits to the entire American copyright community were to be sacrificed out of an inability to dispel the unwarranted financial concerns of juke box operators, who comprise a small segment of the music industry.

Both the Administration's Berne Adherence Bill (H.R. 2962) and your own (H.R. 1623) contain provisions for amendment of the current juke box compulsory license clause of the U.S. Copyright Act. These amendments fairly and equitably address the needs and concerns of juke box operators, while achieving compatibility with Berne Convention standards. The principles of domestic and international copyright law favor voluntary agreements; there is no basis for the belief that juke box operators would be disadvantaged by such negotiations with American performing rights societies. Rather, the

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Representative Robert Kastenmeier
Page two

February 8, 1988

juke box provisions set forth in the pending bills are designed to encourage juke box performances while ensuring adequate compensation to copyright owners for the use of their works.

NMPA believes that since U.S. law currently meets Berne Convention moral rights standards, the law need not be amended in that regard. Thus, there are no further insurmountable impediments to joining Berne and allowing all American copyright owners and creators to reap the substantial benefits which adherence will bring. The National Committee for the Berne Convention notes the consensus which has emerged throughout the copyright community in support of U.S. Berne adherence, which we hope will aid in moving the bills forward. As previously expressed, NMPA stands ready to help in any way we can to ensure passage of this necessary and historic legislation.

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Sincerely,

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Edward P. Murphy
President

CC:

Mr. Morton Gould, ASCAP

Mr. Irwin Karp, National Committee for
the Berne Convention

Ms. Alice H. Prager, SESAC

Ms. Frances Preston, BMI

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I am pleased to inform you of the recent decision by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to support United States adherence to the Berne Convention.

The accompanying statement reflects a consensus among our member companies as to the specifics of adherence.

Please include the RIAA statement in the Subcommittee's hearing record on Berne.

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1020 Nineteenth Street, N.W., Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20036 Telephone: 202/775-0101

RII/ NEWS RELEASE

Recording Industry Association of America, Inc.

1020 Nineteenth Street, V.W., Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20036 202/775-0101

Contact:

Patricia A. Heimers, Director, Public Relations
Anne D. Neal, Deputy General Counsel

RIAA STATEMENT

IN SUPPORT OF BERNE ADHERENCE

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The following

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 5, 1988
statement was issued today by the Recording Industry
Association of America, Inc. (RIAA).

"The Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") supports U.S. adherence to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works ("the Berne Convention"). While it is not clear that Berne adherence would offer the U.S. recording industry any immediate benefit in terms of substantive legal protection, RIAA believes that adherence would serve the long-term interests of the music industry and the entire copyright community in combatting the crisis of global piracy.

Specifically, RIAA believes that U.S. adherence to Berne would:

O

Strengthen the United States position in
combatting worldwide piracy. The Berne
Convention is the oldest, most comprehensive, and
most highly protective international copyright
treaty in the world. Universal adherence to this
treaty must be one of the goals of any
international compaign to fight the growing
epidemic of piracy. U.S. abstention from Berne
is an anomaly which continues to impede U.S.
efforts to encourage other countries to respect
international norms of copyright protection and
hampers the U.S. bargaining position in bilateral
and multilateral copyright negotiations.

Eliminate the need for securing Berne protection through the "back door" by "simultaneous" publication in a Berne member country.

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O

Enable the U.S. to benefit from the expertise of the Berne Secretariat.

Give the United States a voice in the most important world copyright forum. Because of U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO which administers the Universal Copyright Convention ("UCC"), it is currently all the more important for the United States to let its voice be heard as a full member of the most significant forum for resolving international intellectual property problems, especially at a time when the Berne community is grappling with the critical issue of modernizing international copyright law to meet the challenge of new technologies.

Enable the U.S. to be an influential leader within Berne, to promote a unified system of copyright around the world and strengthen U.S. negotiations for stronger copyright laws in lesser developed countries and other foreign nations.

RIAA support for the principle of Berne adherence should not be construed as diluting its commitment either to continued membership in the 1971 Geneva Convention or to the possibility of adherence to the 1961 Rome Convention. Indeed, RIAA expressly conditions its support for Berne on its understanding that the Berne Convention does not in any way preclude U.S. membership in other copyright treaties.

In addition, RIAA's support of adherence to Berne is premised on the following understandings:

O No rights of authors in their literary and artistic works under U.S. copyright law will be enlarged because of adherence to the Berne Convention.

The Berne Convention is not self-executing or
directly enforceable in the United States.

No changes in state or federal law will be
necessary to meet U.S. obligations under the
Berne Convention.

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