UK government tightens up on collecting societies

According to a media release from the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, the UK government has been doing some tweaking of its laws governing the activities of copyright collecting societies. States the media release, in relevant part: 

GOVERNMENT ENSURES MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR ALL COLLECTING SOCIETIES 

New regulations for collecting societies will offer greater clarity for people using copyright works in their business. 

Pubs, bars and shops that require a licence to play music or schools who photocopy copyright material will find to find their legal rights easier to understand as changes to the law came into force on 6 April 2014. 

Last year UK collecting societies collected a total of £1 billion in licence fees for their members. Following discussions with Government, many collecting societies have already put in place their own Codes of Practice which set out minimum standards of transparency and behaviour, as well as establishing a formal complaints procedure. 

The new law includes powers that will make sure all collecting societies comply with these minimum standards. 

Intellectual Property Minister, Lord Younger, said:

"Any efforts that support self-regulation should be welcomed. I am pleased to see the progress that collecting societies have made in agreeing minimum standards and setting their own Codes of Practice. The additional backstop power that has come into force today is there to make sure those standards are met and to give businesses the certainty and clarity they need."

Kevin Fitzgerald, Chair of the British Copyright Council (BCC) Working Group on Principle of Good Practice said:

“I warmly welcome the announcement that the Government’s regulations on Codes of Practice for collecting societies have now become law. I am sure that the positive and collaborative approach taken by the industry has helped to bring about this smooth conclusion to the legislative process. The minimum standards already adopted by collecting societies, and now underpinned by law, are an important step that will strengthen our industry. Good governance is good news for collecting societies and for the economy as a whole.”

Alexander Jackman, Head of Policy at the Forum of Private Business (FPB), commented:

“The Forum of Private Business is delighted that the regulations on Codes of Practice for collecting societies have been approved by Parliament. FPB members regularly interact with collecting societies for their licensing requirements and it is reassuring to know that there are minimum standards in place, and to have clarity around what we can expect."

The Government has published legal guidance on the new regulations for collecting societies and licensees.

The relevant legal detail can be found in the Copyright (Regulation of Relevant Licensing Bodies) Regulations 2014 (2014 No.898) -- part of a wider package of UK copyright reforms that seek to make a clearer and more accessible copyright framework for users and rights-holders. 

Somehow a law that orders collecting societies to sort things out for themselves sounds like a strange way of going about things, but there is some logic in it: each society is presumed to know its own rights, members, users and operating milieu better than any legislator does. Let's see how well it works.

Governance for UK collecting societies: your chance to have a say

The UK remains one of just three European countries which does not provide statutory supervision and minimum standards for collecting societies. This is either a good thing, because British collecting societies are so sensitive to the interests of licensees, members and the market at large that they are in no need of regulation -- or it may be a serious omission which requires urgent attention in order to safeguard a plethora of competing interests in a rapidly-changing world.

There's no doubt which of those positions appealed to the Hargreaves Review, which recommended the imposition of a legislative framework within which collecting societies should have to adopt doubly-approved codes of practice, blessed by both the Intellectual Property Office and the competition authorities, to ensure that they operate in a way that is consistent with the further development of efficient, open markets. The UK government has agreed -- but still has to fathom out how best to transfer this aspiration into reality.

Like owls, many of the most successful panelists are those
who look pretty knowledgeable but don't actually say anything ...

Now for the exciting bit. In just under a fortnight, a special event has been laid on for the purpose of sampling, in the discreet and cosy atmosphere of the House of Parliament:, the views of stakeholders, whatever their stake.  The event, "Copyright collecting societies: does the UK need minimum standards?", is fixed for Tuesday 8 November, and is split into two halves: (i) there's a panel event from 6 to 8pm in Committee Room 7; (ii) a reception will then be held from 8 to 10pm, Dining Room R (Portcullis House).  To attend, email the organisers here.

For the record, the fare on offer at the reception has not been divulged.  Panelists on the menu, however, are as follows: 

–  Dr Stef van Gompel, postdoc researcher Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam. Stef has written on supervision of collecting societies in Europe and is secretary of the Dutch Copyright Committee, which advises the Minister of Justice of the Netherlands on copyright. He will give an overview of how different European countries supervise collecting societies. See Collective Management in the European Union 

–  Frances Lowe, head of regulatory and corporate affairs at PRS for Music. PRS is the only UK based collecting society that has adopted a Code of Practice in a ‘commitment to be easy to do business with’. Frances will talk about the process leading up to the adoption of the Code, and the role of the independent Ombudsman. See the PRS Code of Practice and the PRS Members Code 

–  Brigid Simmonds OBE, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). Following a 200-300 percent increase of PPL’s licensing tariff for background music the BBPA and the British Hospitality Association won a Copyright Tribunal case in 2010 which resulted in PPL having to refund £20 million to retail and hospitality businesses. Brigid will talk about why the BBPA supports minimum standards for collecting societies. See the joint submission of the BBPA and the BHA on the Hargreaves Review to the Business Innovation and Skills committee inquiry

–  Chris Johnstone, head of legal at Music Choice. Music Choice’s 2003 complaint against collecting societies led to the so called CISAC decision in 2008, where European authorities ruled that European music collecting societies’ reciprocal agreements violated competition law. Chris will explain why Music Choice originally brought the complaint, give a music user’s perspective on what has happened since then and reflect on whether minimum standards could help to make copyright licensing fit for the digital age. See Interview with Chris Johnstone on CISAC complaint