U.S. set to clamp down on illegal music playing

TALLINN - After a year's interval, Estonia is about to be mentioned in an annual report on countries that have problems with intellectual property rights to be released in the United States on April 30.

Raili Maripuu, managing director of the Estonian Phonogram Producers Association, said Estonia may be listed in the Special 301 report because Western performers and music producers do not get royalties from Estonia even though their music is being played by Estonian radio stations, the business daily Aripaev reported.

"If a radio or TV station or a public venue plays music, they only have to pay for Estonian music, which means that at the moment they play Western music without paying any fees," Maripuu said.

"A lot of the music comes from America, and they would like to see their producers protected," Maripuu said.

"If I were the financial director of a U.S. company, I wouldn't hurry in making a major investment in one of the countries on the list," U.S. Embassy economic adviser Nancy Nelson said.

Mention of a country on the Special 301 report means that the country does not guarantee efficient protection of intellectual property and does not ensure equal or fair access to its market to those U.S. performers and producers to whom the intellectual property belongs.