Annual Report for 2003
2003 was another quiet year for the Tribunal.
Hearings
No main hearings were held, and just two procedural hearings took place, both in the case between the Association of British Concert Promoters and the Performing Right Society Ltd. The parties settled the case a month before the main hearing was due to take place in January 2004, and a Consent Order with a schedule varying the licence was issued.
Applications
Following the recent trend, for the third year running, only two new applications were received. One was from the British Phonographic Industry concerning music on DVDs, the other concerns the use of music in broadcast subscription channels.
Two other cases came off the Tribunal’s list following withdrawal by the parties. At the end of the year, there were four pending cases before the Tribunal.
Jurisdiction
Following the implementation of the EU Copyright Directive in October 2003, the Tribunal has been given some new jurisdiction to deal with references from the Secretary of State concerning schemes for the use of TVs and radios playing sound recordings in public.
Members
One lay member retired from the Tribunal, having served the maximum term of ten years. The Tribunal currently has five lay members. Whilst the legislation allows for a maximum of eight members, the current level of work means the Tribunal is not considering making any new appointments in the near future.