Are Italian Rules on Copyright Collective Management in Line with EU Law?

Abstract

Abstract Directive (EU) 2014/26 liberalised the market for collective management of copyright and related rights in Europe. In doing so it distinguished collecting societies into two categories. ‘Collective Management Organisations’ (CMOs) are entities that are either controlled (or owned) by rightholders or organised on a ‘non-profit’ basis. Conversely, ‘Independent Management Entities’ (IMEs) operate ‘for profit’ and are not controlled by rightholders. Prior to the adoption of this Directive, Italian law entrusted SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) with a legal monopoly for the collective management of copyright. In 2017 a reform put an end to this system by opening the market to new entrants. However, according to the new rules, an entity can only manage copyright in Italy if it qualifies as a CMO. IMEs are therefore still not allowed to manage copyright in the Italian market. Such a restriction has raised a lively debate in Italy and its compatibility with EU law has recently been the object of a request for a preliminary ruling of the CJEU by the Tribunal of Rome. This work deals with the question of whether the choice of preventing IMEs from entering the Italian market is compatible with the principles of Directive 2014/26 and with general principles of EU law on the Internal Market.