Spain: Royal Decree-Law No. 26/2020 of July 7, 2020, on Economic Recovery Measures in face of the Impact of COVID-19 in the fields of Transport and Housing

July 9, 2020

Spain: Royal Decree-Law No. 26/2020 of July 7, 2020, on Economic Recovery Measures in face of the Impact of COVID-19 in the fields of Transport and Housing was published in the Official Gazette on July 8, 2020, and entered into force on July 9, 2020.

The Royal Decree-Law approves a set of measures necessary for the purpose of economic recovery in the transport sector and in the field of housing; protects the health of workers and travelers; guarantees the availability of essential goods and services; and provides liquidity to companies and reduces administrative burdens.

Among other provisions, the tenth final provision of the Royal Decree-Law provides amendments to section ñ) of Article 159 of Book III of the Consolidated Text of the Law on Intellectual Property, relating to the provisions of the statute of collective management organizations (collecting societies), by adding the words "more than fifty percent" in the second paragraph of section ñ).

This amendment permits holders of rights belonging to user companies to occupy positions in the governing bodies of Spanish collecting societies (provided they do not occupy more than 50% of such positions), while also seeking to ensure that such societies are free of user influence and that such rights holders do not participate in decision-making in which there may be a conflict of interest.