Where an application is made for a compulsory license of a musical work, the written application form shall indicate the identity of the owner of the economic rights to the musical work. This allows the copyright competent authority to notify said owner that he/she may submit an opinion pertaining to the content of the application form. However, in accordance with Paragraph 4 of Article 37 of the Copyright Act, if the musical work has been exclusively licensed, the exclusive licensee may, within the scope of the license, exercise rights in the capacity of economic rights holder. In such instances, the copyright owner is precluded from exercising his/her rights.

To ensure conformance with the provisions set forth in the Copyright Act as well as relevant court decisions, partial revisions have been made to the Regulations Governing Application for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works and Royalties for Use Thereof. The Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the amendments on August 4. Points of note are as follows:

1. To facilitate the copyright competent authority’s handling of procedural matters, such as notification of right holders, the identity of any exclusive licensee to the musical work concerned shall henceforth also be indicated as an item on the application form. (Amendment to Article 3)

2. Where a musical work has been exclusively licensed, the copyright competent authority shall notify the exclusive licensee about his/her right to submit an opinion as well as the scope thereof. (Amendment to Article 7)

3. The wording of certain provisions has been fine-tuned so as to strengthen procedural guarantees afforded to exclusive licensees. (Amendments to Articles 9–11 and Articles 16–18)

Regulations Governing Application for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works and Royalties for Use Thereof

• Publish Date : 2020-09-15
• Update : 2020-09-15
• Organization : International Legal Affairs Office
• Visitors : 450