Proposed Introduction Of Joint Licensing For Small Businesses
“Thousands of small businesses across the UK are required to have two music licences from two different organisations and two invoices to play the same pieces of music for their employees and customers”.
The statement released as part of the independent ‘Digital Copyright Exchange feasibility study – Phase 1 report”, published by Richard Hooper, suggests that the current system of royalty licensing presents an “unnecessarily complex and annoying” challenge to small businesses and consumers.
It proposes to adopt a joint licensing scheme for the two collecting societies, PPL and PRS, “thus cutting down on expense and unnecessary consumer and political aggravation”.
PRS and PPL already offer such licenses for schools, churches, DJs and Community Buildings, and have stated “we are actively engaged in exploring further joint initiatives” as part of their on-going commitment, “improving the licensing experience of our users”. They recognised the “value in presenting a common face to licensees”, stating that “modernising licensing solutions will contribute to growth”.
This is clearly a welcome move which should facilitate compliance and benefit royalty collection for creatives.
<http://www.ipo.gov.uk/dce-report-phase1.pdf>2 <http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/news/copyright-consultation-divides-industry/>
Michael Coyle is a Solicitor Advocate and can be contacted at michael.coyle@lawdit.co.uk. Lawdit Solicitors is a commercial law firm based in Southampton and with associate offices in London, Malaga and Rome.
