CISAC joins right holders, government and international agencies in Kiev to help progress new collective management draft law in Ukraine

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Photo ©: Ministry of Economic Development and Trade

For many years, music rights holders in Ukraine have been hindered by a confused and ineffective collective management system. There are some 19 CMOs operating in the sector – only two of them affiliated to CISAC, UACRR for music and CINEMA for the audiovisual sector - and users commonly refuse to pay due royalties. CISAC, alongside a coalition of other right holders, has been lobbying internationally and locally to improve this situation.

Important progress was made on the issue during high-level meetings in Kiev on 27 February – 3 March. Discussions focused on a new draft law, drafted under guidance from WIPO, which would bring transformative improvements, and which CISAC and other groups are pressing to have rapidly adopted.

Participants included representatives of CMOs in Ukraine and internationally, the Ukraine government and State Intellectual Property Service (SIPSU), WIPO, the US Embassy and European Commission. The meetings were held at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

CISAC and other rights holders are urging the government to implement the new law – drafted by WIPO expert Mihaly Fiscor in consultation with the EU and US -  and have highlighted priority concerns.  These were outlined in a follow-up joint letter sent by CISAC and ICMP to Ukraine’s First Vice-Prime Minister, Stepan Kubiv, thanking the government for hosting the events and encouraging further action.

According to the CISAC/ICMP submission delivered on 17 March:

  • The new law “represents an important step in the right direction in order to introduce an effective, transparent and sustainable collective management system in Ukraine in accordance with best international practices”. The letter calls for the First Vice Prime-Minister to support the draft law and promote it before the National Assembly of Ukraine (the RADA), and to ensure that authors, composers and music publishers can participate in the transformation process of their CMO.
  • The collective rights management system should allow only a limited number of truly representative CMOs to operate. They should be governed by and accountable to creators and rights holders, including music publishers, and they should operate as non-profit/non-governmental entities.   
  • CISAC and ICMP welcome the fact that under the new law the leading music CMO in Ukraine, UACRR, will be transformed into a non-governmental organisation, managed and accountable to authors, composers and music publishers. CISAC and ICMP say it is vital that the above-mentioned parties participate in this transition.
  • It is also important that UACRR is maintained as a strong organisation, and reformed in in line with the requirements of the EU Directive on Collective Management. Implementation of the draft law is the only way to guarantee that the rights of local creators and music publishers will be properly protected and managed, nurturing Ukrainian creative works and stimulating Ukrainian culture.

Following the meetings with the Ministry of the Economy, CISAC presented at a two-day “WIPO Regional Workshop on Copyright and Collective Management” conference. Organised by WIPO in cooperation with SIPSU, the conference sought to update on latest international developments and address long term deficiencies of the collective management in Ukraine.

CISAC also provided its expertise on a panel on “Challenges and Solutions to the Repertoire and Data Management of Collective Management Organizations; Current Landscape of On-line Licensing”.