Copyright Review Commission Report - ICT Law and Regulation ...

HADOPI‘s mandate is to ensure that Internet subscribers “screen their Internet connections in order to prevent the exchangeof copyrighted material without prior agreement from the copyright holders” (Article L336-3 of the Bill).SPRE is a good method of collection for equitable compensation (known as needletime in South Africa). SPRE collects,whereas the co-owners distribute to rights owners.The Audio-Visual Collecting Society for Actors, which collects on behalf of right owners, is another example of goodlegislation in France.3. INDIA3.1. INTRODUCTIONThe purpose of the benchmarking exercise was to ascertain the level of key activities of the music copyright environment inother countries in relation to the South African environment. This exercise included the following activities: Comparing the legislations; Assessing the effectiveness of the collecting societies; Distributions and collections of the royalties; and The relationships between the parties with the entire value chain.India was one of the seven countries selected for benchmarking. India was chosen based on: It is still a developing country with challenges that are not very different from those in South Africa; India’s music industry is successful and local music is exported globally; India has been successful in preserving its culture in a number of different areas; It is a former British colony like South Africa and, accordingly, the earlier legislations were inherited from the UK; and It is a big country (with a population in excess of one billion) and, as such, any potential challenge that may exist withinthe music copyright environment is expected to be found in India.The following institutions were visited in India at the beginning of June 2011:Institution’s NameRegistrar of CopyrightsResearch and Information forDeveloping CountriesRKD (Recording entity)Copyright Board (Ministry of Law andJustice)The Indian Performance Right SocietyLimitedPPL (Due to logistics problems, themeeting was cancelled)Purpose of the VisitTo obtain an understanding of the role of the Copyright Registrar and thechallenges faced by him with regard to the regulation of the collectingsocieties.To obtain an understanding of copyright legal framework and the structuresin place to support the Act.To obtain an understanding of the functioning of the Indian music industry.To obtain understanding of the effectiveness of the copyright disputeresolutions.To obtain understanding about the functioning of the collecting societies forauthors and composers.To obtain understanding about the functioning of the collecting societies forsound recording.- 135 -