The bill provides for the possibility of allocating shares in exclusive rights and disposing of such shares. Main provisions of the bill:
- The bill legalizes the circulation of shares in the exclusive right to all results of intellectual activity (including musical works, performances, phonograms and video clips) and means of individualization, except for the company name.
(2) The ability to dispose of a share in an exclusive right separately from other co-right holders is permitted only with the consent of the remaining co-right holders.
(3) By default, in the absence of an agreement between all co-right holders, shares are considered equal regardless of the actual creative and other contribution of each co-right holder to the creation of the corresponding musical work, performance, phonogram or video clip.
(4) The agreement between copyright holders must be drawn up in writing (failure to comply with the form entails the invalidity of the agreement). The agreement of the copyright holders on the allocation of shares must define:
- the size of the share of each copyright holder in the exclusive right (if the size is not determined, then by default the copyright holders own equal shares);
- conditions on the procedure for right holders to make decisions on the disposal of an exclusive right (including the ability to independently dispose of shares in the exclusive right, without subsequently obtaining the separate consent of other right holders);
- the procedure for the withdrawal of the copyright holder from the list of holders of the exclusive right.
(5) The bill expressly allows for the disposal of shares in the exclusive right by agreement between copyright holders in the following ways:
- alienation (including contribution to the authorized capital of a legal entity);
- pledge.
(6) The bill does not expressly allow the disposal of shares in the exclusive right by issuing a license (non-exclusive or exclusive) to a third party. The text of the bill indicates that the bill does not allow licensing of shares.
(7) The bill allows a co-right holder to waive his share in favor of other co-right holders. By default, this share is distributed equally among other copyright holders.
(8) The bill still allows for the possibility of protecting an exclusive right (including filing claims, filing a lawsuit, demanding blocking, collecting compensation) by each copyright holder regardless of other copyright holders.
NFMI proposals on the draft law:
- Establishing the admissibility of licensing shares in exclusive rights and the admissibility of concluding licensing agreements in relation to shares;
- Establishing the possibility of alienation of a share without the consent of other co-owners;
- The bill should apply to legal relations that arose before its entry into force.
We are ready to promptly answer media questions, provide journalists with the necessary information about the work of the Association, comment on news issues related to music and related areas.