Confederation of Rightholders’ Societies of Europe and Asia (CRSEA) held a round table at the festival “Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk”

In the framework of the International Festival of Arts “Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk” a round table was held named “Culture, Law and Technology. Eurasian Integration”, organized by the Confederation of Rightholders’ Societies of Europe and Asia (CRSEA).

The heads of copyright societies and production centers of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey, Israel, Georgia, Malta and China, as well as the hosts of “Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk” Festival discussed current issues of licensing works of art at international music festivals, activities of copyright societies, trends in the development of copyright and digital services for creative industries.

Opening the round table, the CEO of CRSEA, Chairman of Azerbaijan Authors Society Ismail Mammadkarimov noted that today’s topic is very relevant, since information, creativity and knowledge are strategic assets of modern society that can only be protected within the intellectual property system. Every country present here, has its own specific experience and needs; it is obvious that copyright can be interpreted in various aspects and it is necessary to achieve a balance of multiple approaches.

The copyright issue is extremely important for musicians from different countries, the Director of “Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk” Festival Gleb Lapitsky stated: “Our festival is one of the largest in Europe, now we have 2,500 creative participants. We would like to understand how to make it so that after a concert the authors do not make claims and do not say: “You performed my song at the festival, and I did not get paid for it.” I am glad that civilization is coming to us in Belarus, and these issues are being addressed. But it is no secret that many authors complain that their rights are not protected. A vivid example is the composer Eduard Hanok, who is constantly suing over this and wins the cases.”

The problem of non-commercial use of musical works was one of the issues discussed at the round table. Eric Valdes-Martinez, CEO at UPRAVIS, pointed out that from the point of view of copyright, there is no difference between the commercial and non-commercial use of a musical work: “If we sing or play a song in the family, this is one thing. It’s a completely different matter if we perform a song out in the streets, in a public space – here comes up the question of its use. It’s not just about copyright, there is, after all, an artist who has related recording rights. Thus, in order to use a song on the Internet or on television, the hosts of the event need to sign a contract not only with the author, but also with the artist.”

Susanna Nersisyan, CEO at “Armauthor” Armenian Copyright Society, stated that certain amendments to the distribution of remuneration for commercial and non-commercial use of musical works should be made to the law on copyright and related rights: “Authors will not understand in detail each event – whether it is a commercial one or non-commercial. The draft law has a separate clause: for non-profit concerts, a fixed rate of royalties is proposed, because the author in any case should receive something. But it’s important not only to collect fees, but also to distribute them correctly, and the authors should have no doubt about this,” said Nersisyan.

Deputy Director of Belarus Society of Authors, Performers and Other Copyright Holders (BOAIP) Aleksey Bichurin noted that collective copyright management has an important advantage: “It’s no secret that copyright is primarily money, and the size of the remuneration interests both parties – the hosts of an event, and copyright holders. Collective management allows you to obtain rights to use the works from one source, which is convenient for all parties. Moreover, according to the law, our organization has the right to grant rights to perform only those works with the authors of which we have valid contracts. At present, there are about 5,000 such authors.”

Yevgeny Safronov, editor-in-chief of the InterMedia news agency, pointed out inconsistencies and deficiencies in Russian copyright law and gave an illustrative case: “Recently, in order for the jury of the Tchaikovsky Competition to work legally in Russia, Vladimir Putin had to sign a separate law concerning only members of the jury of that competition, otherwise their work in our country would be illegal. At the same time, everyone understands that such decisions are extremely undesirable and even funny, but there is no other way out. The actual improvement of the legislation is a long process, but we need to work right now. So, regarding the most important international cultural events, the imperfection of the legislation can be quickly compensated by special laws, for example, on a special procedure for legalizing copyright.”

At the end of the round table, the CRSEA members agreed to establish an anti-piracy commission to protect copyright on the Internet.

Mammadkarimov emphasized the importance of international interaction: “The main task of the Confederation as an international institution, is to enhance mutual representation of the interests of our copyright societies, to proceed developing technological capacities and to expand areas of activity in the interests of creators. What unites all those present here is the conviction that the support of cultural identity on the one hand and cultural exchange on the other is the basis of prosperity of the society.”