In line with the evolution of digital technology, the advent and increasing pervasiveness of the practice of downloading music, films and other works protected by law, the collective management of copyright and related rights remains one of the simplest and most reliable means for collecting and distributing royalties to rights owners for the use of their protected works, especially in the field of music.
Among the numerous projects undertaken by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is this CD-ROM, designed to enable users to have a better understanding of the complexities of collective management of copyright and related rights, and of the concrete steps to be followed to appropriately administer the rights of music composers, authors and publishers, through the establishment of collective management organizations and their strengthening in countries where they already exist.
Based on the booklet written by the late Dr. Ulrich Uchtenhagen, the CD-ROM contains a useful and practical workplan in the form of a calendar that sets out a time-line for the different steps to be taken in setting-up collective management organizations. The plan can be chronologically adjusted to suit local circumstances. It provides links to extensive documentation contained in the CD-ROM and information that provides users with the possibility of accessing supplementary information at websites on the internet.
Several collective management organizations agreed to contribute information used in their respective organizations to the making of this CD-ROM, which targets a large audience, including governmental officials, owners of copyright and related rights, specialists and non-specialists in the field of copyright and the collective management of rights, lawyers and staff of existing collective management organizations.
WIPO would like to express its gratitude to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea for its generous contribution which, through the Korean Fund-in-Trust, financed several projects among which the present CD-ROM.
The CD-ROM is in English and is free of charge. To order your copy free of charge, please provide your full address and indicate the requested CD complete title - request a copy.
Setting-up New Copyright Societies