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An Oddity of Copyright Law

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I'm working (too slowly) on a review of a book that takes an international comparative approach to copyright law.

I'll record a point here that intrigues me, but that probably won't get into my review.

In the European Union, it seems there is now a significant difference at law between the music that is playing in the dentist's office when patients are in the chair undergoing the rigors of examination or repair work on the one hand, and the screening of television programs in the waiting room of a rehab facility as a diversion for patients.

I had never given any thought to copyright in either context before, so this is all new to me. It is not so much that there IS a difference that interests me, but how that difference is justified. 

As EU directives put the point, a copyright owner has a right to control when his/her/its property will be "communicated to the public." Although this is not the sole consideration, a court is more likely to find a communication to be a "communication" in the relevant sense if it is profit making than if it isn't. So: is the dentist making a profit by playing Bono's music for his patients?

Apparently, no. According to one finding cited in the book under review, a court decided that the use of one musician's or music label's work over another's does not increase the attractiveness of the dental practice, so it is not a profit making  concern. Thus, Bono might lose that one.
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But, according to another finding the screening of a TV program in the rehab center's waiting room as a diversion does increase the attractiveness of the overall package of services the center offers, thereby helping the cause of the broadcaster, production company or whomever against the rehab center if the latter tried to screen the program for free.

Sounds like an arbitrary bit of line drawing: no? 
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Comments

  1. HenryFebruary 16, 2018 at 7:22 AM

    Showing a TV program in a waiting room DECREASES the attractiveness of the overall package of services, as the drivel that is shown interferes with the waiting patient's ability to read a book. It is wrong to impose it on a captive audience. The same is true of music played in train stations. Being forced to listen to music in a train station has led me to consider whether I could win a lawsuit claiming that such imposed speech violates the First Amendment, assuming that the train station is owned by the government. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest.

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