Dear creators!
It has been almost two months since I accepted the proposition to manage this organization as an Interim Director General. For two months I have been carefully studying the state of things of the agency all day long, getting acquainted with employees and their professional performance of duties, solving the current problems.
It is said that knowledge multiplies pain. It certainly does. The more I analyze the business matters, documentation and decisions that were “worked out” for the last 7-8 years the more I see the depressing picture of systematic distortion of the very philosophy of protection of creators’ rights.
Few of you know that 15 years ago I occupied the position of Director and started to adjust the work of the agency under the international norms in the sphere of copyright and related rights. The professional team was formed in a short term, it consisted of experienced specialists with years of communication with authors and young ambitious experts in the field of computer technology and the Internet. It was the time when we started the system of representatives of SE UACRR who represented our organization in the regions and not only affected the increase of the royalties revenues but moreover brought legal knowledge of the necessity to respect the result of creative activity and the need to pay royalties for the use of this result.
I am proud of the fact that for the short term of my management at SE UACRR our team succeeded in fulfillment of conditions to become an ordinary member of International Confederation of collective management organizations – CISAC. Despite that I haven’t been involved in the work of UACRR for a long time I’ve been following its activity.
Analyzing the outlines of UACRR’s directors for the above mentioned period on their plans to increase the collections and payments, on transparent work and prompt response to the infringement of copyright and comparing them to the reality it can be seen how “vacuumed” the sphere was. On the one hand there were these plans, workshops, international conferences which created the appearance of a wellbeing and on the other hand – the complaint of creators of different art fields not only because it was impossible to receive the corresponding royalties for the works being used in the market but also because it was impossible to effectively protect the creator’s rights in the court, and UACRR didn’t make it possible. The organization did win lawsuits regarding missing payments from the customers for using works however the authors didn’t receive a significant profit.
For now I analyze the results of audits of agency’s activity by different authorities and they also get me surprised: the conclusions differ so much, from “everything is fine!” to opened criminal proceedings that resulted to nothing or after consideration of which no violations are found! I can say this because I worked in prosecution and I have the experience of legal practice. Royalty payments to improper subjects without a proper distribution, under questionable agreements or with no agreements at all became a regular practice of the agency! And the last “mistake” resulted in disappearance of 14 million UAH only confirms the abusive practice that became a standard one.
What are the main reasons for such a state of things?
Firstly, unqualified managers who affect a decision making regarding execution of the agreements, systematization of information and financial discipline. Generally, there is a common opinion that the problem is not about an unprofessional managers but about their personal interest in such a disguised and nontransparent work.
Secondly, a free interpretation of legislative norms and a deliberate use of existing practice (judicial, contractual) without analyzing of its legality. This is being aggravated by the lack of agreement between the Ukrainian CMOs, which leads to unreasonable dumping of the royalty rates and make the system of collective management in Ukraine complicated for understanding for users of copyright.
Thirdly, the absence of punishment for serious violation of financial discipline and unlawful legal support of the agreements which allow the lack of necessary documents confirming the existing authorities for issuing licenses on behalf of primary subject of law or receiving on their behalf a fair remuneration.
Fourth, step by step the organization turned into a specialized CMO dealing with only one activity – music.
Art, beside music, has other not less important spheres to form a common culture of Ukrainian nation. Various art forms are being created within these spheres, which are also been massively used in the market (painting, photography, architecture, audiovisual works and works of applied arts). Ignoring the creators of other forms of the art activity led to one-sided interpretation of the role of CMO.
Fifth and maybe the key one: exclusion of real creators from the control process of CMO’s activity. The reason for this is not only a legal form of organization as a state one but also an unjustified intervention of managers of different controlling bodies into agency’s activity and personnel policy.
What are the ways of reorganization?
First. Considering that UACRR is a state and the “oldest” organization it has to start an extensive dialogue on principles of interaction with national creators of other forms of the art activity (works) as well as with certain CMOs. At the same time, matching of basic concepts used by specialists of copyright and related rights sector should be one of the most important success factors of this interaction. In practice, the ambiguity in the terminology cause misunderstanding between the CMOs.
Second. To organize negotiation with all the active CMOs on the ways of reorganization of UACRR taking into account the interests of all the participants. Thus, the number of CMOs has to be reduced not through the volunteer decisions but through the unifying processes and searching of a reasonable compromise between the real rights of organizations and their technical, personnel (intellectual) and economic potential to perform all legal actions of managing and administrating of creators’ rights.
Third. The final objective of UACRR’s reorganization should be a definite functional position of the agency within the general system of rights management, where management functions correspond to legal essence and gained technical, personnel (intellectual) and economic potential of UACRR should be used to the fullest to set a normal functioning of the whole national system of collective management of creators’ rights and intangible assets of the state. I believe that duplicating functions by different CMOs (especially of administration the creators’ right for a fair remuneration) is currently unjustified and requires great resources from each CMO performing such function. Besides, performing of exactly this function cause misunderstanding and conflicts between CMOs.
Fourth. To solve the disputes between existing collective management organizations and music publishers, the origin of their legal capacity to perform one or another function on behalf of primary subject of the law should be analyzed. This shall eliminate the conflicts between the organizations that waste their resources on solving the same matters through the courts.
Dear creators and managers of other organization!
Nowadays any CMO and especially a state one cannot effectively perform its work separately, without minding the interests of other collective management organizations. That is why I think that only by the means of unifying principles, open information interchange and removing function duplication there is a perspective for an efficient functioning of the whole system of protection of creators’ and other rightholders’ rights.
Moreover the authority of some creators should not impact the dialogue. The copyright protects rights of creators and other right holders regardless of their fame, importance and authority. There is an author, a work and there is a law. We can only reach our purpose if the law will prevail.
UACRR is ready to have a constructive dialogue in regards of creation of civilized European system of collective management of copyright and related rights in Ukraine.
Anatoliy Boychenko
Interim Director General