A Review of Magda Papede's Verwertungsgesellschaften im europäischen Kontext - Das Beispiel der baltischen Staaten

• Author: Thomas Hoffmann
• Pages: 125-126

125

JURIDICA INTERNATIONAL 26/2017

Thomas Hoffmann

Associate Professor of Private Law

Tallinn University of Technology

Contributor to PUT 1030, aff‌i liated with the University of Tartu

A Review of Magda Papede’s

Verwertungsgesellschaften

im europäischen Kontext

Das Beispiel der baltischen Staaten*1

Collecting societies have received quite some focus recently in the European arena, extending from imple-

mentation of Directive 2014/26/EU (the Collective Rights Management Directive)*2 to a groundbreaking

German district court judgement*3 challenging the very existence of GEMA, Germany’s central collecting

society for musical works, by denying it a share in the prof‌i ts raised from publishing of musicians’ cre-

ations*4. Much less research or published work has considered collecting societies and the associated regu-

lations and practices in the Baltic States, at both international and regional level.

Dr Papede’s thorough study is an attempt to f‌i ll this gap, and it fully succeeds in doing so on various

levels. After a comprehensive introduction to the instrument of the collecting society as such and to its func-

tion and its regulation under European law (in chapters 1 and 2), the author devotes Chapter 3 to examining

the existing legal frameworks for collecting societies in the Baltic States, for ascertaining dif‌f erences and

also practical implications (in this respect, the author’s professional background as a practising lawyer

in the f‌i eld adds considerably to the value of the work). Chapter 4 is dedicated to comparative analysis of

the three Baltic legal systems, but the work goes further, also considering them in relation to German law

and the European approach to the issue, especially with respect to the establishment of collecting societ-

ies (Chapter 4), their relationship to authors (Chapter 5), and f‌i nally their connection to users (Chapter 6).

The f‌i nal chapter tackles the question of how advisable a reform of the present system of Baltic collecting

societies would be, not only in the general interest of legal harmonisation but also in response to critical

mass ultimately not being achieved for three ‘sets’ of national collection societies in the Baltic States, on

account of their small size. According to the author, such a reform should be applied cautiously, without

undue keenness to establish entirely free competition among collecting societies (as envisaged in line with

 Vol.  in the ‘Karlsruher Schriften zum Wettbewerbs- und Immaterialgüterrecht series, from Carl Heymans Verlag, ,

ISBN ----.

 Directive //EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of  February  on collective management of

copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market,

OJ L /.

 Judgement of Kammergericht Berlin from  November  ( U /).

 Recently discussed by Stefan Ventroni. Paukenschlag zur Verlegerbeteiligung: Aus für die Verteilungspraxis der GEMA?

[‘The leading decision on publishers’ shareholding schemes: Major German collecting society’s royalty-distribution practice

declared unlawful’]. – Zeitschrift für Urheber- und Medienrecht /, pp. –.

https://doi.org/10.12697/JI.2017.26.13