Newsletter
Amendment to Regulations Governing Application for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works and Royalties for Use Thereof
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on 4 August 2020 promulgated the amended Regulations Governing Application for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works and Royalties for Use Thereof. This amendment mainly addresses the previous rule that, on the application form for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works, the owner of the economic rights to the musical work shall be stated, so that the competent authority of copyright matters can notify the owner and ask his/her opinion on the application. However, Article 37-4 of the Copyright Act stipulates that an exclusive licensee may, within the scope of the license, exercise rights in the capacity of the economic rights holder, who accordingly may not exercise rights within the scope of the exclusive license. It is also ruled by the Supreme Administrative Court that, if a third party wishes to use an exclusively licensed musical work, it shall obtain permission from the licensee of said exclusive license. Thus when a compulsory license is granted, it is the interest of the licensee of the exclusive license, rather than the owner of the economic rights to the work, that may be disadvantaged, and so the exclusive licensee shall be notified to give his/her opinion. Hence, Article 3-1(5) of the Regulations Governing Application for Approval of Compulsory License of Musical Works and Royalties for Use Thereof is amended to comply with the relevant copyright regulation and judiciary decision, adding the item "licensee of an exclusive license" to the application form. The key points of the amendment are as follows:
1. To facilitate the work of the competent authority of copyright matters, i.e. handling such matters as notifying the rights holder on the basis of the submitted application form, the item "licensee of an exclusive license" is added to the application form (Article 3 as amended).
2. When a musical work is exclusively licensed, the competent authority of copyright matters shall notify the licensee of the exclusive license to provide his/her opinion thereon and inform him/her of the scope of the opinion to be provided (Article 7 as amended).
3. Texts in the relevant articles have been amended to afford a more robust procedural protection to the licensee of an exclusive license (Articles 9 to 11 and 16 to 18 as amended).