L.N. 425 of 2003
COPYRIGHT ACT (CAP. 415)
Control of the Establishment and Operation of Societies for the Collective Administration of Copyright, 2004
IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 59 of the Copyright Act, the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs has made the following regulations –
1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Control of the Establishment and Operation of Societies for the Collective Administration of Copyright Regulations 2004.
(2) These regulations shall come into force on the 1st January, 2004.
2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires
“Act” means the Copyright Act<
“Board” means the Copyright Board established under article 45 of the Act.
and other words and phrases used shall have the same meaning as is assigned to them in the Copyright Act.
Provided that a request for incorporation of a collecting society made at the Ministry responsible for the protection of Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights and still pending prior to the commencement of these regulations, shall be considered as having never been made.
Citation and commencement.
Definition.
Administration of Rights.
Approval of Collecting Societies.
(2) A request for approval of a collecting society submitted to the Board shall include>
(e) it considers that the proposed tariffs are unacceptable>
Provided that if the collecting society has different sets of
tariffs, it may still be allowed to operate in those areas for which
the Board has approved the tariffs.
(4) In determining whether a collecting society has the economic and technical means to fulfil its functions as specified in sub-regulation (3)(c) hereof, the Board may consider the following>
Provided that for the purpose of carrying out its functions
under this sub-regulation the Board may request from a collecting
society any related or incidental information as it deems
appropriate.
(5) The basis for calculating the tariffs shall normally be the monetary advantages obtained from exploitation of the protected work, as well as the proportion of the utilisation of the work in the total exploitation. Other considerations to be made when calculating the prospective tariffs should include the category and nature of the user involved, including the type of business in the case of a commercial venture, as well as any religious, cultural and social elements involved.
5. (1) As soon as practicable after the receipt of a request for Publication of
Request.
the approval of a collecting society, the Board shall publish the request together with the proposed tariffs in the Malta Government Gazette and shall give notice that, within sixty days after the publication, prospective users or their representatives may file written objections to
Validity of Tariffs.
the request or the tariffs on the basis of the provisions of regulation 4(3) with the Board.
(a) send a copy of the approved tariffs, together with the reasons for the Board’s decision, to the collecting society that filed the tariff and to any person who filed an objection< and
(b) publish the approved set of tariffs in the Gazette.
6. (1) An approved tariff shall be effective for a period of two calendar years from the date when it was published in the Gazette.
(2) After the two years specified in the paragraph above have elapsed, the collecting society shall submit the tariffs for the next two years to the Board, which will consider them according to the following conditions>
(a) if the proposed tariff is identical to the previous tariff, it will be approved by the Board>
Provided that if any objections to the tariff have been filed with the Board in the preceding two years, the Board shall permit the collecting society to reply to the objections, and after due consideration of the objections and relevant replies, the Board shall as soon as practicable approve or refuse the proposed tariff<
(b) if the proposed tariff includes revisions to the previous tariff, the Board shall treat it according to the provisions of regulations 5(1) to (3) relating to tariffs.
7. (1) A collecting society, on behalf of, and on the basis of the authorisation by, the authors and other owners of copyright and of neighbouring rights that are its members or that it otherwise represents on the basis of agreements with local or foreign collecting societies may fulfil the following tasks>
(2) Companies, business concerns or other organisations which do not conform to the provisions specified in the Act or in these regulations for the operation of collecting societies shall have no right to>
Functions of Collecting Societies.
Distribution of Fees.
Information on Collecting Societies.
Provided, without prejudice to the provisions of sub-regulation
(3) hereof, that nothing in this paragraph shall affect the right of authors and other owners of copyright or neighbouring rights to appoint a direct legal representative to manage or administer their economic rights>
Provided further that said legal representative only collects fees on behalf of his client and passes said fees directly to his clients and not in the form of a redistribution scheme as normally operated by collecting societies.
(3) Companies, business concerns or other organisations which perform the functions of collecting societies according to the provisions of the Act and these regulations, shall be considered collecting societies for the purposes of the Act and these regulations and shall be subject to the relevant provisions thereof.
8. (1) Decisions about the methods and rules of collection and distribution of fees and equitable remuneration and about other aspects of collective administration shall be taken by the authors and other owners of copyright and of neighbouring rights whose rights are administered or by the bodies representing them.
9. (1) The authors and other owners of copyright and of neighbouring rights whose rights are administered shall have the right to obtain full and detailed information about all the activities of the collecting society that concern the exercise of their rights.
(2) Any collecting society must answer within a reasonable time all reasonable requests from the public for information about>
10. Authors and other owners of copyright and of neighbouring rights who or which are not nationals of, or have their habitual residence or their headquarters outside, Malta and whose rights are administered by a collecting society in Malta, shall enjoy, in respect of the administration of their rights, the same treatment as those authors and other owners of copyright and of neighbouring rights who or which are members of, or are otherwise represented by, the collecting society and who or which are nationals of, or have their habitual residence or their headquarters in, Malta.
11. A collecting society may not, without good reason>
12. Those who carry out acts authorised by a collecting society or acts for which, although authorisation is not needed, equitable remuneration is to be paid to a collecting society, shall
13. (1) Any collecting society shall immediately furnish the Board with a copy of
(a) any amendment to its statutes or regulations mentioned in regulation 4(2)<
National Treatment.
Prohibition of Refusal.
Obligations of users of works.
Duty to promote documents.
Revocation of authorisation.
14. The Board shall revoke the authorisation of companies, business concerns or other organisations to act as a collecting society if any ground for which the approval of the collecting society would have been denied as specified in regulation 4 (3) and (4) arises, unless the circumstances giving rise to such grounds are remedied within a reasonable period fixed by the Board, or, if, despite a warning by the Board, the collecting society repeatedly violates its statutes, its regulations mentioned in regulation 4(2) or the provisions of the Act or of these regulations.
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