Under the current legislation, collective management organizations – structures that collect fees for the use of works on behalf of authors and distribute them to right holders – can demand either a fixed fee or a percentage of user revenues. An exception applies to radio broadcasting, where only a percentage form of payment is allowed.
The new draft proposes that for cable retransmission of radio and TV programs, only fixed tariffs should be applied as the “most transparent and objective” method. According to the authors, it is planned to abandon interest rates in this segment, as they cannot be objectively verified: collective management organizations do not have access to the accounting data of cable operators.
For the other areas of use of works, the possibility of choosing the form of payment – fixed or percentage – will remain.
At the same time, a minimum guaranteed level of author’s remuneration is introduced. If the calculation according to the percentage formula results in too low an amount, right holders will be able to demand payment not lower than the established minimum.
The procedure for negotiating tariffs is also being clarified. Now the parties have up to 90 days to negotiate, after which the methodologies must be signed and published. In practice, it is not always possible to reach an agreement, so that the establishment of tariffs and payments to authors are blocked. In such cases, it is proposed to allow either party to apply to AGEPI, which will approve the methodology and ensure its publication.
The authors of the initiative believe that the changes will make the system for calculating royalties more transparent and predictable for business, as well as provide authors with a stable and guaranteed income for the use of their works.
