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ICMP statement on Spanish collecting society SGAE
Spanish music publishers Emi Songs Spain S.L., Musical Editions Warner Bros, S.A. and peermusic Española, S.A.U were all barred from SGAE’s Board of Directors on 11 December 2017 following a personal decision from SGAE’s President.
While SGAE’s official statement is that the measure was adopted 'in compliance with a ruling', the reality is that the referred ruling from the Spanish Court of First Instance is a declaratory judgment and that the decision has been appealed, therefore lacking the condition required by Law to be applicable.
In addition, the ruling contains several provisions and the same Court has advised that it cannot be made binding only in part.
Therefore, expelling publishers without any hearing at the governing bodies of SGAE, and in contradiction to a provisional Court´s order against this action, is evidence that these actions are not supported by law.
ICMP is outraged by these developments, which once again show SGAE’s complete lack of respect towards one of its most important constituents: the national and international community of authors, composers and music publishers SGAE has the honour and fiduciary responsibility to represent in Spain.
ICMP calls for an immediate reversal of SGAE’s actions.
Chris Butler, Chair of ICMP
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USTR review of 2017 Notorious Markets
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on 12 January revealed its annual list of notorious online and physical markets around the world.
Russia, Ukraine and China are deemed the worst online markets, while China leads the way with six named physical marketplaces.
This year’s report also identifies online advertising as a large revenue source for counterfeiters and highlights the alarming rise of pirate streaming devices, such as media and set-boxes.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has already stressed the importance of strong enforcement, saying: “The Trump Administration is committed to holding intellectual property right violators accountable and intensifying efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy.”
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WIPO International Conference: ‘Respect for IP – Growing from the Tip of Africa’
WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, together with other international partners, including INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are co-organising the second edition of the “Respect for IP” conference from 23 – 25 October 2018 in Sandton, South Africa.
The event aims at raising awareness of enforcement of intellectual property. Some 600 participants from across the globe will attend, including government ministers and policymakers, judges and senior enforcement officials.
A website will be launched soon.
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Canada ‘convinced’ US will leave NAFTA
Canadian government officials are expecting US President Donald Trump to imminently announce that the US intends to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
They are convinced the announcement will be made when the US, Canada and Mexico meet from 23-28 January for the penultimate round of talks to modernise the treaty.
NAFTA discussions include important copyright and intellectual property provisions. Negotiations are due to finish at the end of March.
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Australia: 56% of arts funding goes to women
The Australia Council for the Arts - the government's arts funding and advisory body - has granted $6.4 million worth of funding to 118 individual artists, 27 groups and 51 arts organisations.
Notably, 56% of these grants went to women or groups containing women. These include indigenous group Kardajala Kirridarra, and singer/songwriter Jen Cloher.
The Council hopes the funding will increase the visibility of Australia's vibrant arts and culture scene. Applications for the next grant rounds close on 6 February.
China: Can Tencent Music create a legitimate source of music consumption?
China has an undeveloped culture of paying for music and a history of piracy but there are hopes for further growth in the years ahead as music companies and services roll out initiatives to establish a paid model for music.
One such service leading the way is Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), which has become the largest digital music and social company in China.
The group has been working closely with the government to fight piracy and to create a source of music streaming and downloading, whereby artists can be paid for their work.
TME is ultimately trying to get more users to pay for good music and support and sustain the development of their favourite musicians and the music industry.
According to estimates, China’s music streaming market is projected to jump to US$460 million in 2020 from US$119 million in 2015.
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Canada: It’s official. Canada announces Copyright Act review
Canada last month officially announced that it would move forward with a review of its Copyright Act. Major discussion items are extending copyright term of protection, safe harbours and the value gap.
Canadian creators and artists and rights organisations have welcomed the efforts and are eager to modernise the act.
“I am delighted with this vote, which has been a long time coming. In order to remain competitive globally, we need a wide ranging review of the Copyright Act so that Canadians can be in line with our international counterparts,” said Canadian Music Publishers Association (CMPA) Executive Director, and ICMP member, Margaret McGuffin.
In November 2017, during a series of meetings with Canadian policy makers, ICMP urged the country to extend its copyright term to life of the creator plus 70 years, saying, “such extension is imperative if Canada wants to remain competitive.”
The review will take place this year.
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United States: Spotify to go public on the U.S. stock exchange
Music streaming giant Spotify confidentially filed IPO documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of December 2017.
Spotify was valued at $19bn last year and may be the first major company to carry out a direct listing without raising new capital through a traditional stock offering.
This approach would avoid underwriting fees and restrictions on stock sales by current owners, and doesn’t dilute the holdings of executives and investors.
Meanwhile, the streaming service is being sued by Wixen Music Publishing for $1.6bn, for hosting songs it doesn’t have the full rights to.
United States: Music trade groups unite on copyright reform proposals
In the US, 20 prominent music organisations – including ICMP member NMPA - announced their support for the Music Modernization Act.
The Act reforms Section 115 of the U.S. Copyright Act to create a single licensing entity that administers the mechanical reproduction rights for all digital uses of musical compositions. The Act includes, among other things: A new standard for mechanical royalties, whose rates will now be negotiated according to the principles of free market; a new entity to administer blanket licenses for mechanical uses; the removal of evidence limitations for public performance royalties which will now allow rate courts to consider sound recording performance royalty rates when determining musical work performance royalties; and a reform of the rate court system giving PROs the ability to have randomly selected judges decide their royalty rates.
Two other proposals, which trade bodies have formally declared their support of, include the CLASSICS Act and AMP Act, which together seek to improve conditions for artists and songwriters and their respective business and creative partners.
NMPA President & CEO David Israelite commented: “Right now, there is unprecedented momentum behind efforts to fix outdated laws that prevent music creators from earning what they deserve, and I am thrilled to say that publishers, songwriters, composers, labels, artists and PROs stand together to fix them.”
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