Musical works meaning

Court of Justice rules on Czech reference concerning omission of hotel occupancy in copyright royalty tariffs and possible breach of Article 102 TFEU The Court of Justice has delivered its judgment in Case C‑161/24, OSA, arising from a Czech reference seeking clarification on whether a collective management organisation’s failure to take account of hotel room occupancy when setting royalties for licensed works can amount to an abuse of a dominant position under Article 102 TFEU. The Court held that, depending on the particular circumstances, overlooking hotel occupancy may constitute an abuse within the meaning of Article 102 TFEU. Background In December 2019, the Czech Competition Authority (CCA) found that OSA, the Czech collective management organisation for musical and other artistic works, had abused its dominant position in the market for copyright licensing. Between 2008 and 2014, OSA applied flat‑rate royalties to hotel operators for audio and audiovisual works made available via in‑room television and radio equipment, without reflecting actual room occupancy. The CCA concluded that this pricing...

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...

Antitrust AG issues opinion concerning collective rights body’s failure to consider hotel occupancy rates when setting royalty rates not inherently abusive Advocate General Szpunar has issued his opinion in Case C‑161/24 OSA, a reference from the Czech Republic asking whether a collective management organisation’s omission to take hotel room occupancy into account when setting copyright royalties for licensed works amounts to an abuse of a dominant position under Article 102 TFEU... Background In December 2019, the Czech Competition Authority (CCA) concluded that OSA, the Czech collective management organisation for musical and other artistic works, had abused its dominant position in the market for copyright licensing. From 2008 to 2014, OSA applied flat-rate royalties to hotel operators for the use of audio and audiovisual works made available through in-room TV and radio devices, without reflecting actual room occupancy. The CCA determined that this tariff model imposed unfair trading conditions contrary to Article 102 TFEU and parallel national provisions. It imposed a fine of CZK 10.6m (approx. €429,000) and...

Copyright is a proprietary right that grants the owner the exclusive ability to perform, and to permit others to perform, particular acts in relation to the work. Under UK law, as contained in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988), there is a closed list of categories eligible for protection, namely: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films or broadcasts the typographical arrangement of published editions To qualify, a work falling within one of these categories must be fixed in some form. For example, writing down or electronically saving a song’s notes and lyrics creates a record that is protected, provided the work otherwise meets the CDPA 1988’s qualification requirements. For comprehensive guidance on those requirements and on subsistence generally, see Practice Notes: Copyright—protectable works and Copyright—subsistence and qualification. It is not necessary to register a work for copyright to arise. Court of Justice judgments This Practice Note includes references to Court of Justice judgments....

Categorisation Copyright grants the proprietor the exclusive ability to carry out, and to authorise others to carry out, particular acts in respect of qualifying works. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) formally sets out categories of protected works, bringing certainty about the types recognised. However, the boundaries between these groupings have since become less distinct, partly because of the digital revolution and the growing intricacy of creative production. This has created uncertainty as to whether the CDPA 1988 categories are exhaustive—so that anything outside them is not protected—or whether copyright may subsist in creations not expressly listed in the statute. Debate therefore persists about the scope of protection available to works that defy neat classification under the statutory scheme. CDPA 1988, s 1(1) identifies the categories: original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works sound recordings, films or broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions These headings delineate what the legislation regards as eligible subject matter. Earlier UK...

This Practice Note examines music collecting societies, which may operate as ‘licensing bodies’, and/or ‘Collective Management Organisations’ (CMOs). It outlines: the rationale for music collecting societies; how collecting societies work; and the regulation applicable to music collecting societies. It then supplies details on PRS for Music (PRS) and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) (covering their members and the rights they administer), as well as the joint venture PPL PRS Ltd and TheMusicLicence. This Practice Note sets out practical matters to bear in mind when dealing with music collecting societies. The need for music collecting societies and the legal framework The proprietor of copyright in a creation such as a musical work or a sound recording is entitled to authorise or prevent certain restricted acts. In the UK, those acts are listed in Chapter II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). The restricted acts include the right to reproduce the work, to perform or play the work in public, and to communicate the work to the...

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ Insert name of Publisher ], a company incorporated in [ England ] with registered number [ company number ], whose registered office is at [ address ] (Publisher); and [ Insert name of Writer ] of [ insert address ] (Writer). Background The Writer composes musical works and/or authors lyrics of literary works; The Publisher operates in the field of music publishing throughout the Territory and has, inter alia, facilities for the administration and exploitation of musical works; and The Publisher seeks to obtain, and the Writer agrees to grant to the Publisher, the exclusive right to the Writer’s share of the Compositions, subject to this Agreement. It is agreed as follows: 1 Definitions and Interpretation 1.1 In this Agreement: Accounting Period means each six-monthly period ending on 30 June and 31 December; Advance means all monies...

The parties agree: From: [ insert name of publisher ] (‘we’ and ‘us’) of [ insert address ] From: [ insert name of company ] (‘you’ and ‘your’) of [ insert address ] Dated: [ insert date ] Dear [ insert organisation name ] ‘[ insert name of programme ]’ (the Programme) 1 Subject to, and in consideration of, your payment to us of the amounts specified in Schedule 1 (receipt of which is acknowledged), we hereby provide you with a non-exclusive licence covering the musical and literary works (the Works), the details of which are set out on the cue sheet in Schedule 2...

Case No. [ insert number ] IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS OF ENGLAND & WALES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LIST (ChD) [ INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ENTERPRISE COURT ] Between [ insert full name of claimant ] (the Claimant) and [ insert full name of defendant ] (the Defendant) PARTICULARS OF CLAIM The Claimant The Claimant has, at all material times, been and remains [ insert details of claimant ]. The Claimant’s principal business activity is [ insert type of business carried out ]. In particular, the Claimant [ insert brief description of claimant’s business relating to the copyright work or works ]. The Claimant has, throughout all material times, owned and continues to own the copyright in the [ insert details of relevant work ] (the Work). Pursuant to section 1 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright subsists in the Work as a [ insert type of copyright work, for example...