Roadmap for Collective Management in Europe Drawn at European Committee Meeting in Sofia
The two-day 2016 CISAC European Committee Meeting took place in Sofia, Bulgaria on 6-7 April, drawing approximately 100 representatives from 42 authors’ societies, including the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) and the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA), from throughout Europe. Following the 2015 meeting in Tbilisi, this year saw the conference taking place in Sofia in recognition of efforts from local members MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR promoting collective management in Bulgaria.
See the photo gallery.
Day One
On 6 April, Sofia Municipality Council Commission for Education, Culture, Science and Cultural Diversity Chair Malina Edreva warmly welcomed all participants to the annual committee meeting.
Organised by Bulgarian members MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR, the representatives received an update on collective management in Bulgaria from FILMAUTOR Managing Director Maria Palaurova and MUSICAUTOR Chief Executive Officer Ivan Dimitrov. Shoftly after, EU initiatives on copyright and collective management were discussed by SAA Executive Director Cécile Despringre and GESAC Senior Legal Advisor Burak Özgen.
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) International Legal & Business Affairs Vice President John Coletta moved the focus towards North America, supplying an update on developments in music copyright and collective management in the United States.
Streaming was on the agenda as Spotify Publisher and Songwriter Relations Director Jules Parker presented along with Nenad Marčec of HDS-ZAMP on how creators can benefit from Spotify’s business model.
The first day of the conference continued with Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM) Director of Phonographic and Digital Rights Caroline Champarnaud, Asa Carild and Graham Edwards of ICE Services providing an update on the cross-border initiatives for cross-border online licensing of musical works.
Day Two
The start of the second day of the conference saw Artisjus Senior Legal Counsel Gabor Faludi and Private Copying and Legal Affairs for Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (AKM), Paul Fischer, reviewing recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) decisions pertaining to copyright to begin.
Adriana Moscoso del Prado of Spanish General Society for Authors and Publishers (SGAE) then updated the conference on relations between CMOs of authors’ rights and CMOs of related rights in Europe.
The two-day meeting gave the chance to remind societies of CISAC’s global priorities as well as review the current revision of CISAC’s governance model. CISAC Director of Business Standards and Rules Sylvain Piat detailed the progress in updating governance, particularly on Compliance and Developmental Reviews as well as membership reform to take into account new business models.
Concluding the meeting, CISAC Regional Director for Europe Mitko Chatalbashev provided an update on CISAC activities in Central and Eastern Europe followed by country reports and resolutions of support. The 2016 conference wrapped up with the unanimous re-election of José Jorge Letria (SPA) as CISAC European Committee Chair for a second two-year mandate.
Resolutions Passed
Once discussions on copyright and collective management in Europe concluded, two key resolutions were passed.
The first resolution addressed private copying in Lithuania, calling on the country’s government and the legislator of the Republic of Lithuania to take into account the fair compensation for the use of works and to harmonize Lithuanian law with the Directive No. 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 May 2001. This resolution is in response to deep concern on the deprivation of fair remuneration for painters, photographers, illustrators, writers and others for private copying of their works. The current situation only pertains to audiovisual and music authors.
The second resolution treats private copying in Bulgaria upon the initiative of member societies MUISCAUTOR and FILMAUTOR. For more than two decades, Bulgarian and foreign authors have been deprived of fair, lawful compensation due to the lack of effective implementation on private copying and reprography legislation. The resolution respectfully requests the Ministry of Culture to redress the situation through providing proper enforcement and necessary amendments to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights to be duly harmonized with European Union legislation.