FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are Secondary Television Rights?
Secondary rights will cover generation of revenues for use of works, when the direct distribution arrangements either cannot anticipate the commercial value of the use at the time a licence is put in place or the law provides for uses to trigger “equitable” or “fair compensation” for rights owners who are not in a position to license the use of their rights on a case by case basis, but can excerpt their rights through collective licensing bodies.
The descriptions below are general and high level in nature. More detail can be provided by 560 Media on request.
Retransmission Rights
What are they?
When a broadcast or other electronic transmission of a film or television programme is licensed, there will be occasions when the law allows for additional service providers to pick up the signal and “re-transmit” this to users of their own services. When the commercial value of this is not part of the original licence, laws provide that certain retransmissions are permitted, provided that the retransmission service pays rights fees for their use.
How do they work?
Where laws permit retransmissions without the direct consent of right owners or initially licensed broadcasts of specified transmissions, payments due have to be made for rights clearances via collecting societies. These collecting societies may be set up either to represent a particular group of rights owners (e.g. Producers); or to represent all relevant rights holders on an umbrella basis before collecting fees due from retransmission services and passing on shares of the total to collecting societies representing a particular group of rights owners.
What about the detail?
National laws governing the way in which retransmission rights are governed by collective licensing vary around the world. Within countries of the European Union these rules have been led by the terms of a group of Directives which include the Cable and Satellite Directives (93/83/EC as amended by Directive/EU 2019/789[1]).
Retransmission fees in the USA and Canada are collected from cable operators, satellite companies and performing rights organisations. Here the laws aim to provide for licensing fees to be set at reasonable levels without individual producers withholding or restricting access to programmes contained within initial licensed transmissions.
Around the world 560 Media will work with collective management organisations to ensure that use of clients’ repertoire is picked up and noted for the purposes of allocation of retransmission revenues.
There will be occasions when additional services linked to collectively licensed retransmissions can also be licensed in return for additional payments to collecting societies. These may include in home television relay of retransmissions or linked non-commercial add on relays.
Further details of claims systems within individual countries can be provided on request (hello@560media.com ).
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01993L0083-20190606&from=EN
Private Copy Levies
What are they?
Fees charged on the sale of items that permit users to make copies of films and other copyright works, when it is not practical or possible for rights owners to oversee or manage when, or how, the copying takes place.
Items vary from country to country, but include smart phones, USB sticks and computer tablets.
How do they work?
Frequently a central collective organisation will be recognised as the body which collects the levies from manufacturers within a specific country. That body then agrees revenue shares with other organisations specifically representing the interests of different types of rights owner – writers – performers – producers and others.
560 Media will work with the societies which represent the rights of audio-visual producers and broadcasters.
What about the detail?
National laws providing for collection and payments of private copying levies vary in detail. 560 Media will provide further detail for clients on the status of collections in individual countries, on request (hello@560media.com ).
The World Intellectual Property Organisation has published detailed reports on the levy system applicable in different countries[1].
[1] https://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4183&plang=EN
Educational Establishments and Government Departments Copying
What are they?
Securing a fair reward for the use of copyright works is becoming increasingly complex within a digital world.
This is particularly true when uses operate around the boundaries of what may be permitted under what are known as “copyright exceptions or limitations”. In other words, provisions under copyright law which set out uses which do not require consent from right owners[1].
These boundaries are particularly complex when it comes to uses within education or by governments for public services.
For this reason, many national laws recognise that collective licensing solutions enable one stop shop licensing arrangements to be put in place which cover agreed non-commercial uses by or for educational establishments and government departments. These avoid ongoing debates about whether an individual use covered by the licence may or may not be permitted under the local national laws which provide for uses linked to copyright exceptions and limitations.
Collecting Societies may be authorised by governments or otherwise enabled to operate under national laws to cover the provision of these non-commercial licensing services. Licences issued give rise to fees for the benefit of rights owners.
How do they work?
Rights owners will mandate the collective licensing body (which may be a collective management organisation or independent management entity which licenses rights collectively) to represent them and collect fees for the relevant educational uses or uses by or within government departments.
What about the detail?
In addition to the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand some European countries have collective management schemes in place which enable the collection of educational and government collective rights revenues.
Other countries around the world are developing new licensing regimes and 560 Media will work with new collective management organisations to ensure that use of clients’ repertoire is picked up and noted for the purposes of allocation of relevant revenues.
[1] Exceptions and limitations to exclusive rights linked to Article 9 (2) Berne Convention which states that “It shall be a matter for legislation in the countries of the Union to permit the reproduction of such works in certain special cases, provided that such reproduction does not conflict with a normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author”.
Public Performance Fees and Secondary Licensing
When can they arise?
Inevitably the concept of public performance is linked to broadcasting. However, there will be circumstances where a broadcast or other electronic service is received in commercial venues, or reused in public places for the commercial benefit of the venues concerned.
This can cover bars, cafes, restaurants and public areas within hotels when an access fee distinctly linked to a public performance is not required.
Additionally, licensed copies of programmes may be used in such venues resulting in a public performance which attracts secondary payments.
How are they processed?
560 Media works with collecting societies, including independent management entities to enable the collection of licence fees and levies which are charged on a collective basis.
Payments are allocated against titles by the societies and entities and relevant payments reported to 560 Media for agreed accounting periods.
What about the detail?
560 Media has agreements in place with a number of collecting societies under which secondary public performance fees are collected and processed for clients.
560 Media also has arrangements in place to cover collections from a considerable number of territories around the world where licensing operates in a complementary way to primary distribution of programmes around the world.
Rental and Lending Revenues
When can they arise?
A programme may be “rented” in copyright terms when it is made available for use for a limited period of time and for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage. A programme may be “lent” when made available for a limited period of time though establishments (such as libraries) which are accessible to the public but the lending is not for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage.
When rental or lending is relevant the activities are really a subset of the right to distribute a programme.
When can they arise?
Within Europe, the Rental and Lending Directive introduced provisions which recognised that specified contributors to programmes had an exclusive right to prohibit rental and lending subject to contractual terms to the contrary.
Even when rights are contractually transferred contributors (including producers) retain the right to receive equitable remuneration for rental. The administration of the right to obtain this equitable remuneration may be entrusted to collecting societies[1].
When this occurs, 560 Media will work with the relevant collecting societies to collect shares of revenues falling due to producers.
Likewise, in countries where public lending supports payment of remuneration[2] for film producers, revenues may arise for producers of films.
How are they processed?
Shares are allocated either through umbrella collecting societies (covering collection for all right holders before dividing shares according to different types of right) or directly by collecting societies representing the rights of film producers.
What about the detail?
Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement introduced a right covering commercial rental of films in 1994.
Some exceptions can apply, but when collections are made by collecting societies, these will be relevant to rental and lending revenues.[3]
[1] Article 5 Directive 2006/115/EC
[2] Article 6 Directive 2006/115/EC
[3] Rental Rights – Article 11 TRIPS