Roundtable on Collective Rights Management

IP Key and the National Copyright Administration of China (NC AC) are organising a roundtable on collective rights management on 26 and 27 November 2014 in Beijing.  The two-day meeting will gather 70 participants from China and Europe to discuss factors shaping the development of collective right management (in particular in relation to the digital era) and address challenges confronting the Chinese CMOs.

Speakers and participants from government, academy, legislative bodies, courts, industry associations, collective management organisations (CMOs) and user groups will share lessons and exchange experiences on the following issues:

Role of government as the enabler of effective collective rights management

·         Establishment of CMOs

·         Supervision and management of CMOs

·         Dispute Resolution

Operational aspects: interaction users and other stakeholders

·         Remuneration (methods, expenses, deductions for social and cultural undertakings, etc.)

·         Negotiation and tariff fixing

·         Representing and safeguarding rights

Operational aspects: interaction with right holders

·         New EU Directive: implications and implementation 

·         Transparency and governance of CMOs

·         Check and balances

Operational aspects: interaction with foreign CMOs

·         Cross-border Licensing practices

·         Representation of foreign rights holders in legal proceedings

·         Monitoring and enforcement in the digital era

·         Considerations of future cooperation

The discussion and exchanges are expected to generate constructive recommendations on the improvement of collective management legislation – at a time when the third revision of China’s copyright law is entering the final drafting process, operations and interactions between CMOs internationally.

Background: For over a century, the EU and its Member States have built a comprehensive regulatory framework concerning Collective Management Organisations (CMO) and collecting societies play an essential role to the use, performance and retailing of copyrighted works in film, television, education, hospitality and entertainment, as well as online and mobile commerce. The development of collective rights management in China has largely drawn on the experience of the EU. It was in the early nineties that China started to set up a model of collective rights management after the promulgation of the Chinese copyright law. Five Collective Management Societies have been established and licensed under the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) to manage music, audio-visual, written, film and photographic works respectively.  By 2013, the Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC) and the China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) have recorded one hundred million RMB revenue and the members of MCSC and the China Written Works Copyright Society (CWCS) have seen rapid increase.