FILMAUTOR and CISAC find success in cable retransmission right case in Bulgaria

During the last couple of years, FILMAUTOR has been fighting Bulgarian cable operators to reach a framework agreement on settling the cable retransmission right. The users’ representative organization BAKKO has been rejecting the idea of entering into such an agreement claiming that there is no form of retransmission in cases where TV programs are originally broadcasted from BG territory. Reference is made to this in article 8, paragraph 1 of the Satellite and Cable Directive.

BAKKO’s position forced FILMAUTOR to take legal actions against certain members of BAKKO. One case is finished and three others are pending. In the finished case, the national courts rejected the user’s arguments for lack of retransmission based on article 8, paragraph 1 of the 93/83 Directive. The court stated that it is up to the national legislation to regulate the subject matter and, since there is no distinction between local and foreign channels that are broadcasted from Bulgarian territory in all cases where the content carrying signals are distributed simultaneously and in unabridged way with the initial broadcasting, the cable retransmission right shall be separately cleared. This decision is the first one in Bulgarian jurisprudence on the matter. We believe it paves the path to other successful law cases and will facilitate the process of finding a positive outcome of the long-term dispute with users.

The positive outcome of the case would not have been possible without the intensive support on behalf of CISAC and the collective management community. During negotiations prior the court case and during litigation, FILMAUTOR was provided with exhaustive information on good practices and position papers on cable retransmission issues that contributed to the society’s positive results.