Two of the leading players in the long running dispute with Europe’s copyright collecting societies have given their backing to the European Commission’s judgement on the issue.
As reported yesterday in Broadband TV News, the Commission ordered EU-based copyright collecting societies to allow music users to obtain multi-territorial licences for pan-European exploitation across cable, satellite and the internet from any one of the 27 EU countries.
The ruling followed complaints from the pay audio service Music Choice and the broadcaster RTL. Christian Hauptmann, Deputy General Counsel of RTL Group said the decision gave the Commission an opportunity to develop a futureproofed copyright collection system. “It has always been our goal to ensure that broadcasters and other mass users of music gain access to a multi-territory one-stop shop for the worldwide music repertoire – just as record companies have already known for years. A sound competitive environment will lead to more efficient administration services and lower transaction costs – and this is also to the benefit of composers, authors and users.”
Cable Europe said it was ready to work with the Commission and stakeholders to develop a swift and efficient copyright clearance system. “The monopolistic organisation of copyright societies in Europe has clearly not stimulated these societies to adapt themselves to the fast moving world of content distribution. New forms of delivering content have emerged and the European Commission should be encouraged to take further legislative measures to design a new future proof copyright clearing system,” the Brussels-based trade association said in a statement.
