Commission calls for comments on collecting societies

The IPKat learns from ZDNet News that the European Commission has given authors and composers until 9 July to comment on territorial restrictions on the work of collecting societies. On the table is a change to the wording of the standard form contract used by 18 collecting societies in the UK to allow collecting societies to operate in overlapping geographical areas. This is expected to make copyright-based transactions involving the electronic shifting of information across borders easier.

According to the Commission:

‘The new contract lifts the membership restrictions and the exclusivity clause, according to which reciprocal representation is done on an exclusive basis for the respective territory of the collecting societies’.

The IPKat tried to check this out with a visit to the EU’s InfoSoc portal, but he just couldn’t navigate his way round it. He did though have fun on the rather flash website of Viviane Reding, the InfoSoc Commissioner. In principle though, he’s always in favour of moves which free up competition and deliver a better deal for consumers.