14 April 2018 saw the entry into force of Spanish Royal Decree-Law 2/2018, of 13 April, amending the wording of the Spanish Copyright Act. This reform transposes two Directives into Spanish law, namely: Directive 2017/1564 of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain permitted uses of certain works and other subject matter protected…

What is an appropriate royalty for a broadcaster to pay for the right to include music in its broadcasts?  This is a question the UK Copyright Tribunal considered recently in a rather dry but comprehensive decision. The decision was under Section 126 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (“CDPA”) relating to a dispute…

The Supreme Court validated the method used by the French collecting society Sacem to determine how the proceeds relating to the exploitation of musical works in clubs and discotheques should be redistributed to the rightholders. A full summary of this case has been published on Kluwer IP Law

“The latest development is that GEMA has filed another lawsuit against YouTube, demanding from YouTube to take down the on-screen notice ‘Unfortunately, this video is not available in Germany because it may contain music for which GEMA has not granted the respective music rights.’” YouTube and GEMA (the German Society for musical performing and mechanical…

“The judgment casts a spotlight on a distinct feature of collective rights management in Germany and the difficulties that may ensue for creators and users of musical creations who want to license such material under an alternative licensing scheme.” The case that came before the Local Court Frankfurt/Main concerned a dispute between the German Society…