Est. 1min 13-07-2007 (updated: 28-05-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram A coalition of large media companies in the broadband and online TV markets have urged the Commission to reject the terms under which collecting societies have proposed to share benefits of online music, saying that the proposed deal would stifle competition and harm cultural diversity. In March 2007, CISAC proposed a set of draft commitments in order to set a deadline to the Commission’s proceedings. Essentially, these commitments were: On membership: CISAC and its members agreed to allow copyright holders to move freely between different collecting societies. On territoriality: Collecting societies agreed to group up and grant cross-border licenses for music on the internet, over satellite and cable. The licenses are, however, subject to a complicted system of requirements and limitations, which, CISAC says, is necessary to “ensure that authors and their works do not suffer the effects of a potentially harmful downward spiral in royalty rates”. On exclusivity: Collecting societies agreed to delete the exclusivity requirement from their contracts. The Commission decided, on 14 June 2006, to market-test the commitments. Read more with Euractiv MEPs call for dismantling of energy giants Members of Parliament backed proposals from the Commission to split up large integrated energy firms such as France's EDF and Germany's E.ON, saying that this would be the best way to create an efficient internal market for gas and electricity. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters PositionsOn 10 July 2007, however, the Commission received a letter signed by companies including France Telecom, Liberty Global, SBS Broadcasting, Orange, RTL, ProsiebenSat1, Telenet, ORF, Cable Europe, Deutsche Telekom and by the German Association of Private Broadcasters and Television Operators (VPRT). The letter, which is addressed to EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, urges the Commission not to accept settlement proposals from CISAC which, the signatories say, "raise substantial issues as regards application of competition law and internal market rules, cultural diversity, and the relationship between smaller and larger representatives of rightsholders". The signatory companies say that "the settlement porposals - instead of remedying the consumer harm identified by the European Commission - would undermine the current system of licensing the global music repertoire as a single package and lead to a costly, inefficient and fragmented licensing system for music rights." They also state: "The proposed remedies woud...lead to the disappearance of many smaller author's rights societies." The letter goes on to suggest that the Commission: "The collecting societies amend their proposals to provide for an economically meaningful licensing system, including guarantees that the remedies in this competition case are not undermined by withdrawal of repertoire while they are in effect." The companies conclude: "If CISAC cannot offer such a solution, the Commission must adopt a decision finding an infringement of EC competition rules." BackgroundFollowing a 2003 complaint from digital music distribution platform Music Choice Europe, the Commission examined a model contract for public performance rights between collecting societies that are members of CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers. The complaint concerned clauses in the proposed contract and bilateral agreements modelled upon it, according to which: Authors are obliged to transfer their rights only to their own national collecting society (the so-called membership restriction); commercial users can obtain a license only from the domestic collecting society and limited to the domestic territory (the territorial restriction), and; the network of interlocking agreements between collecting societies, the effect of which is, according to the Commission, "that the membership and territorial restrictions multiply and guarantee to collecting societies an absolutely exclusive position on their domestic market". In February 2006, the Commission sent a statement of objections to CISAC and its European members, in which it agreed with the tenor of the Music Choice complaint. CISAC brings together more than 200 collecting societies from around the world. In the European Economic Area, it has 24 members, which, as trustees of copyright holders, collect royalty payments from individuals and groups who perform the music in public spaces, including the internet. Further ReadingEuropean Union Commission (press release):Antitrust: Commission market tests commitments from CISAC and 18 EEA collecting societies concerning reciprocal representation contracts(14 June 2007) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission:Notice on market test published in Case COMP/38698 (CISAC)(9 June 2007) [FR] [FR] [DE] Commission (Memo):Competition: Commission sends Statement of Objections to the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) and its EEA members Business & Industry CISAC and 18 EEA collecting Societies:Proposed Commitments for Performing Rights under Article 9 of(7 March 2007) Regulation No 1/2003 CISAC:CISAC reaches an agreement in principle with the Eruopean Commission VPRT:VPRT zum „Markttest“ der EU-Kommission im Wettbewerbsverfahren gegen die internationale Vereinigung von Verwertungsgesellschaften (CISAC)(11 July 2007)
