Collecting society meaning

In this issue: Patents Trade marks Copyright and associated rights IP and technology Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Patents Tenets of patentability affected by the UK Supreme Court (Emotional Perception v Comptroller of Patents UKIPO) On 11 February 2026, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) handed down a seismic ruling that reshaped how exclusions from patentability, ie subject matter not eligible for patents, are appraised and applied. For good measure, the UKSC went further still, clarifying the very nature of an invention, and offering detailed direction on the manner in which inventive step/obviousness ought to be assessed. It is a generational judgment; one that will both endure and also drive immediate, practical changes to patent practice. The ruling sweeps away entrenched UK obstacles to protecting innovations across ‘all fields of technology’, not only within AI and computing, the sphere in which Emotional Perception’s technology sits. Multi-dimensional aspects of the...

GEMA files model action to clarify AI providers' remuneration obligations in Europe. GEMA is the first collecting society worldwide to lodge a claim against a provider of generative AI systems for the unauthorised use of protected musical works. The case centres on the US company OpenAI, operator of generative chatbot systems. GEMA alleges that OpenAI reproduces protected song lyrics by German authors without having secured licences or paid those writers. The objective is to establish that OpenAI systematically uses GEMA’s repertoire to train its systems. OpenAI has emerged as the world’s leading provider in generative AI and now reports annual sales above U$2bn. In 2024, the company is targeting revenues of up to U$5bn. Its AI-assisted language system, the chatbot ChatGPT, was trained on copyright-protected texts, including lyrics from the repertoire of around 95,000 GEMA members. These authors have yet to receive payment for the use of their works. GEMA has therefore brought a claim before the Munich Regional Court to enforce its members’ claims against the American parent...

A German music collecting society has filed a lawsuit against Suno AI for copyright infringement at the Munich Regional Court. GEMA, the organisation responsible for enforcing its members’ copyrights, alleges the generative AI system has exploited works under its remit, naming titles including ‘Daddy Cool’ by Boney M and ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville, among other works under its administration and control. “Our members’ songs are not cost-free input for the business models of generative AI providers,” said GEMA’s chief executive Tobias Holzmüller in a statement. Any individual or entity wishing to use these songs must secure a licence and pay fair remuneration to the authors. He added that GEMA has a licence model available, noting it would always take legal action against unlicensed use. The legal proceedings come as the role of collecting societies, also referred to as CMOs, has emerged as a central issue indeed for...

Film and TV glossary A–B Film and TV glossary E–H Film and TV glossary I–L Film and TV glossary M–P Film and TV glossary R–S Film and TV glossary T–W CAP Code for non-broadcast media The UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code) serves as the principal framework governing non-broadcast adverts, promotional sales activity and direct marketing messages. It is drafted by the Committee on Advertising Practice (CAP), a self-regulatory body whose membership comprises organisations representing advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and media industries. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) polices the CAP Code and may require the withdrawal or amendment of any advertisement that contravenes these standards. Refer to Practice Note: Advertising law and regulation. Channel 4 Channel 4 operates as a ‘publisher-broadcaster’: it produces no programmes internally, commissioning content from production companies across the UK. Cinematograph film Under the Copyright Act 1956 (CA 1956), films gained protection as...

Except where an exemption or relief applies, payments of: annual interest (or amounts that tax rules treat as annual interest), and that have a UK source must be made under deduction, with the payer required to withhold and account to HMRC for UK income tax at the basic rate (20%) or, from 6 April 2027, at the savings basic rate (22%) (for more detail, see Practice Note: UK withholding tax on yearly interest). This Practice Note describes the duty to deduct (and account to HMRC for) UK income tax from UK‑source annual interest as a withholding tax, even though it is in substance a mechanism for collecting UK income tax from the UK‑based payer rather than from the recipient who: is the beneficial owner of the income, and is likely to be based outside the UK For more information on the requirement to deduct UK income tax from UK‑source annual interest, see Practice Note: Administration...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : In the Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024, the government revealed plans to include unspent pension pots and pension death benefits within an individual’s estate for IHT from 6 April 2027. This measure will cover both defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements, and will extend to UK-registered schemes as well as qualifying non-UK pension schemes. These rules apply across the entire pensions landscape. A technical consultation on how to deliver these reforms ran between 30 October 2024 and 22 January 2025. The reforms are legislated by the Finance Act 2026 and alter how personal representatives must declare the value of pension death benefits from 6 April 2027. For further details, see: Autumn Budget 2024—Private Client analysis — Inheritance tax. Effect of the grant A grant of probate, or a grant of letters of administration (sometimes with Will annexed), are the most frequently used forms of grant of representation in a deceased person’s estate. A grant of representation is a court order. Its function...