1 April 2012Copyright

Baker & McKenzie launches Collecting Societies Handbook

International law firm Baker & McKenzie has launched its Collecting Societies Handbook 2012, a two-volume reference guide to collective licensing of audio and audio-visual rights around the world.

With a foreword by actor Jeremy Irons, the two volumes provide a comprehensive guide to the governing laws and various collecting societies across 33 countries worldwide.

“In today’s online environment we, the creators, face multiple and well-publicised challenges in ensuring our rights are properly protected and fairly remunerated,” Irons wrote.

Collecting societies are responsible for ensuring creators of artistic works get what they are owed and for defending creators’ rights in an evermore challenging marketplace.

Volume one tackles Asia Pacific, Latin America and North America. Each collecting society in the featured countries is then analysed using a simple, tabulated approach, outlining its expertise, membership, the kinds of licences it administers and what use they cover: everything from background music in a restaurant to pop music concerts.

Each of the 33 country sections has been pulled together by Baker & MacKenzie lawyers on the ground, and each collecting society entry comes complete with the relevant contact details for those requiring licences.

As the editors acknowledge, the handbook “cannot realistically, and does not seek to, cover every aspect of collective licensing or every jurisdiction in the world”. But it does cover the key markets, and the key societies in those markets. As such, it’s an invaluable resource for businesses looking to license, allowing licensor and licensee optimally to “unlock the value in copyright protected content”.

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