French Culture Minister Jean-Jacques Aillagon has confirmed his commitment to the battle against counterfeit literary and artistic materials. Minister Aillagon has announced a ‘round table’ meeting at which members of the national committee for anti-counterfeiting will come together with other interested professional parties to discuss a course of action on the issue. The aim of the meeting is to establish an anti-counterfeiting bill, which would take into account the proposal adopted by a European Commission directive in January, on the ‘rights of intellectual property’. The minister also asked that a bill which takes into account the rights of authors, and the rights of a society to information, should be submitted to parliament by the beginning of May. Minister Aillagon indicated support for a copyright law which prevents the reproduction of an artistic work until the passing of 70 years after its creator’s death. The current length of time needed to pass before a musical recording can be reproduced in France is 50 years. Minister Aillagon stated that he is interested in seeing this timeframe extended. For more information, visit the French Ministry for Culture website.