Croatia Amends Law on Copyright and Related Rights

The amended Law on Copyright and Related Rights entered into force in Croatia on July 8, 2017, aiming to align Croatia’s legislation with Directive 2014/26/EU on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights and Multi-Territorial Licensing of Rights in Musical Works for Online Use in the Internal Market.

In line with the Directive, the amendments aim to modernize and improve the transparency in collective management organizations in Croatia. The goal is to allow rights holders to be more involved in the management of their rights and ensure timely and more accurate payments of royalties.

Collective management organizations were legally unable to perform multi-territorial licensing of musical works prior to the amendments. The new set of rules aims to enable and simplify such licensing in the online environment by making it easier to cover a multitude of territories and a large catalogue of music. It should now also be easier for service providers, such as music download or streaming providers, to introduce new and innovative online services, offer a wider content selection and enable more frequent use.

The new rules do not apply to related rights (performances and phonograms). Also, the amendments do not affect the collective management of other types of copyright (audiovisual works, works of visual art, works of language) and related rights in the digital and traditional environments.

The amendments also introduce alternative means of resolving disputes between collective management organizations and their members and end users by providing a legal framework for arbitration.

By: Ivan Kos

For more information, please contact Ivan Kos at our Croatia office.