Collective Management Societies for Copyright and Related Rights
Societies for the collective management of copyright and related rights facilitate the protection of the rights of authors, artists, performers and other creators.
They act as an interface between creators and the entities (publishers, broadcasting organizations, and phonogramsÂ’ producers), which permit the commercial exploitation of literary and artistic creations. They collect fees and distribute revenues to rightholders, and they are essential for the effective enforcement of such rights through border and other measures. WIPO is active in the promotion of the establishment of such societies and the strengthening of the administration of existing collection and distribution systems.
Recently a workshop on the collective management of copyright and related rights was organized to study in detail the means for strengthening the work of the collective management societies in several Arab countries. The workshop adopted a number of recommendations and a plan of action for future work in this domain.
National seminars on collective management of copyright and related rights are also organized to provide training for government officials, members of the judiciary, lawyers and representatives of the private sector in this field.
A conference on copyright, related rights and collective management was also organized to examine the status quo of collective administration of copyright in the countries of the Arab region, provide a forum for participants to exchange their views on the potential contribution of collective administration of copyright and related rights in the economic, social and cultural development process, and explore possible measures for assisting them in establishing or strengthening of collective administration organizations in view of the new challenges in the digital era.
