On April 19th and 20th, the annual general meeting of CISAC’s (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) European Committee took place at the Hotel Altis, in Lisbon. The European Committee is one of CISAC’s main regional bodies and it issues the guidelines of the Confederation’s policy for the European territory.
This Committee coordinates the activities of the European societies of authors in the defense of the moral, professional, economic and legal rights of its members, thus strengthening the cooperation bonds between the different societies.
Approximately 100 representatives of 53 European collecting societies distributed over several countries, from the United Kingdom to Turkey and from Russia to Italy, were in Lisbon.
During both meeting days, the main issues that currently concern European societies were under discussion. Special attention was given to the challenges that the development of digital technology poses to author’s right, to the new business models that result from the new platforms used to make copyright protected works available to the public, as well as to the activity of the European Parliament and of the European Commission in the area of author’s right, especially in what concerns the approval of the forthcoming directive on the collective management of musical works’ rights.
Other issues related to specific areas of intellectual creation were also discussed, such as the equitable remuneration for the exploitation of audiovisual works and the resale right for the transaction of plastic arts works.
In addition, the participants talked about the fight against piracy and the creation of a global database for copyright protected musical works.
The newly appointed Director General of CISAC also participated in this meeting and brought forward an outline of the Confederation’s new strategy.
SPA hosted this major meeting following the application submitted last year in Prague during the Committee’s previous session. Its immediate approval by CISAC can only be interpreted as another sign of the trust in our abilities and as an incentive to achieve our goals, as well as an acknowledgement of SPA’s presence on the international stage.
Therefore, it fell on SPA’s President to open the agenda with an overview of the society’s organization and operation, of its activities’ main guidelines and of its goals.
Lisbon, April 20th, 2012
