Europese Commissie stelt morgen collectief beheer wetgeving voor
Europese Commissie, Top News from the European Commission, AGENDA/12/25, p. 3-4.
Uit het persbericht: The European Commission will present its proposal for a Directive on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market.
The objective of the proposal is to put in place a better legal framework for the collective management of rights that are administered by collecting societies on behalf of rightholders such as authors, performers, producers etc. It will provide for rules to improve the standards of governance, transparency and financial management of all collecting societies, thus improving the management of revenues collected on behalf of the rightholders (creators) as well as enhancing the co-operation between collecting societies across the EU. It will also set minimum standards, adapted to the digital world, for collecting societies' multi-territorial licensing of authors' rights in musical works used for the provision of online services, which allows for superior and simpler cross-border licensing.
These proposed changes will both satisfy increasing consumer demand for cultural content, including online, and encourage the development of a European Single Market for services that rely on content protected by copyright and related rights.
The background:
Consumer demand for cultural content and innovative online services does not recognise borders or national restrictions. Collecting societies ensure that rights from all over the Union are licensed in all Member States, thus facilitating consumers' access to a wide diversity of cultural content from different origins. However, the functioning of some collecting societies has raised concerns as to their transparency, governance and handling of revenues collected on behalf of rightholders. Some collecting societies struggle to adapt to the increasingly international demand for content and services and are not sufficiently equipped for either online or multi-territorial licensing. This is a hindrance to the European Single Market, as well as to innovation and cross-cultural exchanges.
Difficulty in obtaining multi-territorial licences for authors' rights in musical works is one of the factors that contributes to the fragmentation of the European Single Market for online music services and prevents consumers from enjoying the widest possible access to diverse musical repertoires.
In seeking to solve these problems, the Commission will provide the tools necessary to answer growing consumer demand for entertainment services, including online, while promoting greater innovation and cross-border cultural communication. Ideally, this initiative will also result in faster and increased remuneration for creators.
