CISAC European Committee gathers in unified call for collective management and copyright improvements in Europe
The state of affairs in Europe for collective management and copyright brought together 110 participants from 55 European societies and observers from BIEM, GESAC, SAA and EVA in Belgrade on April 4th and 5th for the CISAC European Committee (EC) meeting.
The gathering is a major moment of the year to examine how developments affect creators and their rights in Europe, and what efforts can be undertaken to maintain and improve CMOs activities throughout the region. CISAC also updated members on initiatives and campaigns taking place globally, including transfer of value, remuneration right for audiovisual authors and resale right campaigns. CISAC Director General Gadi Oron also detailed the status of ongoing CISAC Membership Reforms.
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Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development State Secretary Professor Dr Vladimir Popovic opened the meeting, highlighting the importance of culture in society. Serbian Intellectual Property Office Director Vladimir Maric spoke to the current challenges for collective management in the country and the role of proper state supervision.
In Europe, copyright reform is front and centre with reforms underway through the Copyright Directive, which is an important opportunity to fix the transfer of value. Based in Brussels to advocate for creator remuneration and representing over 1 million rights holders across Europe, GESAC provided an overview of the Copyright Directive’s current situation. GESAC detailed how Member States have voted to date, pending questions from Member States, and the process’ next steps. In the European Parliament, a vote in JURI is expected in June, before moving on to the Plenary in July. In the Council, the Commission expects agreement before the end of June. Afterwards, a trilogue would follow.
Other major issues include broadcasting regulation, such as direct injection of broadcasters sending programmes directly into television provider packages. Some broadcasters and operators are refusing to honour copyright obligations when direct injection occurs. Since 78% of the television market operates based on direct injection, the potential loss to creators is alarming. During a live poll at the meeting, 74% of attendees expressed experiencing at least some negative effects on their activities due to direct injection.
Representing over 138,000 audiovisual creators through 23 members in 24 European countries, SAA addressed the situation for the audiovisual repertoire. These creators need an unwaivable remuneration right for on-demand exploitation collectively managed and paid by users. However, the European Council has not started substantial discussions on the issue. CISAC and creators council Writers & Directors Worldwide has been showcasing the need and benefits for creators of this right. SAA also overviewed the Broadcasting and Retransmission Regulation, voicing concerns about country of origin and fixing direct injection.
For EVA, which represents the interests of European visual arts collective management societies, the Copyright Directive should provide proper collective extended licencing schemes and assure that the new right of press publishers has no negative impact on creators and their remuneration. Framing is a priority for EVA and its societies, requiring a correction in CJEU case law. There is a risk that the Directive could provide unfavourable exceptions (e.g. in favour of Wikipedia), which would require mobilising visual artists.
Exploring technology and its influence on operations, TEOSTO Chief Digital Officer Roope Pajasmaa presented survey results on digital transformation within CMOs. The survey underscored expectations for efficiency, transparency and speed. To reach these expectations, CMOs should stay up-to-date on technologies and collaborate on standard data management solutions. CMOs can also make better use of identification and description standards for data management. Blockchain was highlighted as a way to encourage trust both for database registrations as well as for transactions among societies. The Elixir project of ASCAP, SACEM and PRS was presented. RAO Board of Directors Chairman Andrey Krichevskiy elaborated on intellectual property and blockchain developments in Russia.
Media and entertainment consulting firm FutureSource updated the European Committee digital market trends including subscription services replacing pay-per-downloads, increased use of wireless speakers and global leaders replacing local services in streaming. They indicated that transfer of value remains a key problem for songwriters in receiving adequate revenues. In video and broadcast, streaming video on-demand (e.g., Netflix, Amazon) is expected to exceed transactional home video in 2019.
The CISAC European Committee elected AKM CEO Gernot Graninger as the new Chair, succeeding two consecutive terms of SPAutores President José Jorge Letria.
CISAC Regional Director Mitko Chatalbashev and SOKOJ CEO Alexandar Kovacevic were interviewed on Serbian National Television, speaking about the role of CISAC in protecting creators as well as the level of copyright protections in Serbia.