Collective Management Societies as the name suggests
are created with a view to collectively manage the rights of various copyright
holders. These societies license the copyrighted works and collect royalties on
behalf of the right owners. Royalty collection is the essential economic right
of every copyright owner and it is not physically possible for him to discharge
this function by himself. The problem is that there is generally only one such
organization for each category of work, giving the society a near monopoly.
Where there is monopoly, there is bound to be abuse and in order to protect the
interests of both right holders and users, various steps maybe taken. One such
method maybe trough Governmental regulation and supervision. Compliances maybe
imposed on these societies threatening them with disbandment if they do not
adhere to them. For example, the Indian copyright act provides that if a
copyright society is being managed in a manner detrimental to the interests of
the right holders, its license can be cancelled. Secondly, an appellate body
can be created to hear appeals against any conduct of the copyright society.
This will provide copyright owners with a redressal mechanism in case the
societies start charging arbitrary rates.
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