There will be new competitions for the CMO accreditation

14/ 02/ 2022

Listen to online Stop     There will be new competitions for the accreditation of Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) in the field of copyright protection. Thus, the European Business Association hopes for the transparent CMO selection process with the positions of all stakeholders considered. There are several reasons for such optimism. First, on February 10, the President of Ukraine finally signed Law 1960-IX on Amendments to Copyright Law, which prematurely terminated the powers of the Accreditation Commission of Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) and provided for the need to approve a new Accreditation Commission and announce new competitions. Secondly, on February 11, EBA representatives had a very constructive meeting with Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Hryban on problems in the field of copyright fees. As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed that every interested industry – equipment manufacturers, representatives of HoReCa, broadcasters, etc – has the right to be directly involved in the work of the accreditation commission (for the selection of CMO in each area_. After all, this is a prerequisite that the voice of every interested industry will be heard, and the accreditation process will be transparent and in compliance with all legal requirements. Besides, the EBA representatives drew Mr. Hrybans attention to the need for comprehensive reform of the sphere to introduce certain safeguards that will prevent abuse by the CMO. For example, such safeguards could be the introduction of a mandatory online system that will provide access 24/7 to information on funds deducted from business, the criteria for payment distribution to authors, and so on. Another factor that could contribute to the normalization of negotiating relations between the CMO and equipment manufacturers should be the specification of the requirements for the list of equipment and media subjected to deductions. For example, it should be clearly stated that deductions are not levied on equipment purchased for professional use and/or with built-in protection against unauthorized copying, such as DRM. Obviously, the issue of the deduction rate also needs to be specified. There should be a clear formula behind economically viable tariffs that will prevent unreasonable demands of certain CMOs to increase the deduction by several times. Therefore, the European Business Association is extremely grateful to the President of Ukraine for the signed Law, and the Deputy Minister for openness to dialogue and constructive discussion. We hope that many positive steps are still ahead, and in the end, our state will be able not only to hold transparent and fair competitions for accreditation of the CMOs but also to qualitatively reform the field of copyright protection in general.   Be the first to learn about the latest EBA news with our Telegram-channel – EBAUkraine.

There will be new competitions for the accreditation of Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) in the field of copyright protection. Thus, the European Business Association hopes for the transparent CMO selection process with the positions of all stakeholders considered. There are several reasons for such optimism.

First, on February 10, the President of Ukraine finally signed Law 1960-IX on Amendments to Copyright Law, which prematurely terminated the powers of the Accreditation Commission of Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) and provided for the need to approve a new Accreditation Commission and announce new competitions.

Secondly, on February 11, EBA representatives had a very constructive meeting with Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksandr Hryban on problems in the field of copyright fees. As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed that every interested industry – equipment manufacturers, representatives of HoReCa, broadcasters, etc – has the right to be directly involved in the work of the accreditation commission (for the selection of CMO in each area_. After all, this is a prerequisite that the voice of every interested industry will be heard, and the accreditation process will be transparent and in compliance with all legal requirements.

Besides, the EBA representatives drew Mr. Hryban’s attention to the need for comprehensive reform of the sphere to introduce certain safeguards that will prevent abuse by the CMO. For example, such safeguards could be the introduction of a mandatory online system that will provide access 24/7 to information on funds deducted from business, the criteria for payment distribution to authors, and so on. Another factor that could contribute to the normalization of negotiating relations between the CMO and equipment manufacturers should be the specification of the requirements for the list of equipment and media subjected to deductions. For example, it should be clearly stated that deductions are not levied on equipment purchased for professional use and/or with built-in protection against unauthorized copying, such as DRM. Obviously, the issue of the deduction rate also needs to be specified. There should be a clear formula behind “economically viable tariffs” that will prevent unreasonable demands of certain CMOs to increase the deduction by several times.

Therefore, the European Business Association is extremely grateful to the President of Ukraine for the signed Law, and the Deputy Minister for openness to dialogue and constructive discussion.

We hope that many positive steps are still ahead, and in the end, our state will be able not only to hold transparent and fair competitions for accreditation of the CMOs but also to qualitatively reform the field of copyright protection in general.

Be the first to learn about the latest EBA news with our Telegram-channel – EBAUkraine.