Press Release
| International Agreement on Internet Licensing Framework For Musical Works. |
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On September 11, copyright societies from many of the world's largest copyright markets developed a joint basic agreement on a framework for licensing the international use of musical works on the Internet. The Miami meeting was called by GEMA (Germany), SACEM/SDRM (France) and NMPA/HFA (United States). The attendees agreed that the overriding principle governing the use of music on the Internet is that fair remuneration must be paid for any and all uses. With this in mind, the organizations decided to work together throughout the world to facilitate the licensing of music used on the Internet. The key factor in the implementation of effective and economical music licensing, monitoring, and policing systems on the Internet is the electronic identification of musical works. The copyright societies, therefore, will work with software companies which specialize in electronically fingerprinting and watermarking works with a view toward defining the requirements necessary for the realization of these goals. A working group was created to this effect. It is contemplated that the system of identification of works of music will be integrated into the distribution process. The licensing activities of the copyright organizations will be based on the CISAC Plans for a Common Information System, which have been developed cooperatively. It is anticipated that in addition to music, other categories of rights such as literary, film and photographical rights, as well as neighboring rights, will also be considered in the distribution process. |
