Pervasive Effect of Competition Law on Copyright Societies in India

Abstract

Copyright societies play a vital role in the copyright system. They enable markets to function for the use of copyright works in situations where the copyright holder cannot contract directly with the user. This is done by way of simplifying the negotiation process in managing the rights of their members and acting as a single contact point for licensees. Generally, it is admitted that copyright societies act in the interest of both rights owners and end users. There is, in practice for operational reasons, a single society per sector in India. That means that both users and authors only have one partner with whom they must deal. They have no choice and the society occupies a de facto monopoly, and potential abuses may result from their double monopoly situation. It is therefore by no means surprising to see that collective management has attracted a lot of attention from the side of the competition authorities. It has also become increasingly clear that the inherent monopoly of copyright society raises serious concerns for the competition authorities.