Licensing Issues Hindering the Development of Online Music and Audiovisual Services in Europe

Abstract

The difficulty of obtaining pan-European licenses for music and audiovisual works has been and continues to be a major barrier to development of European-wide music and video distribution services. Music rights have been managed by collection societies with territorial monopolies, requiring commercial users to negotiate separate licensing agreements in each territory. Recent actions by the European Commission and industry participants have resulted in the fragmentation of music rights as artists and publishers have withdrawn their rights from some national collection societies. As a result obtaining pan-European rights to a global repertoire of music has become more complex. Rights to audiovisual works on the other hand have been controlled by studios, distributors and producers, and pan-European licensing has been restricted by commercial decisions.Future licensing systems may be partially modelled after the Nordisk Copyright Bureau or Satellite and Cable Directive, both of which include multi-territorial, one-stop-shop licensing and compulsory licensing by collection societies. Licensing of audiovisual works appears to be moving in a similar direction, as a recent decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union declared territorial restrictions in broadcast licenses as anti-competitive, which may force broadcasts to be licensed on a pan-European basis and enables the consumption of broadcast services across borders