COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION
The Commission is by law mandated to grant approval to any organisation wishing to function as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) and also oversee the operations of such organisations. Every CMO is essentially an association of copyright owners, formed with the objective of negotiating and granting copyright licence and collecting royalties on behalf of copyright owners and distributing same to them. Currently, there are three approved Collective Management Organisations, namely:
- Reproduction Rights Organisation of Nigeria (RERONIG), a collecting society for literary and publishing.
- Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN), a collecting society for musical works.
- Audio-Visual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVR S), a collecting society for cinematograph films.
- The Reproduction Rights Organisations of Nigeria (REPRONIG) (For Literary and Publishing Industry);
REPRONIG was formed by the academic community and stakeholders in the book industry as a non-profit organisation to administer the secondary rights of authors and publishers.
It has the right to negotiate, grant licenses, and distribute royalties to right holders in the literary field. It represents the interest of right holders, individual authors, publishers and their respective associations. It also provides educational and secured platform for access to huge repertoire from across the world.
Link: www.repronig.ng
- Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) (For Music and Sound Recordings);
The Commission approved the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) on 3rd April 2017 to operate as a Collective Management Organisation for musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria.
Link: www.mcsn.ng
- Audiovisual Rights Society of Nigeria (AVRS) (For Films);
AVRS is the CMO for cinematograph works in Nigeria. It is empowered to engage in the issuance of licenses on behalf of copyright owners in the film industry; for public and commercial use of films; to collect royalties accruing to such licenses and distribute same to copyright owners.
The following documents must be submitted to the Nigerian Copyright Commission before a company can function as a CMO:
- A Certificate of Incorporation of company.
- Memorandum and Articles of Association of company.
- A statement indicating the category of right owners the society intends to represent.
- The List of members not less than 100.
- An undertaking by at least five directors of the company shall comply with the provisions of the Copyright Act.
- A membership agreement of the company.
- Evidence of payment of the prescribed fees.
Upon approval of the application, the Commission shall issue a certificate as evidence of its licence to operate as a Collective Management Organisation. The licence shall be valid for three years and may be renewed every two years. Before the expiration of a licence, a CMO is required to apply for a renewal of its licence within six months before it expires and attach to its application an up-to-date list of its members and also the current repertoire of the organisation, indicating the title of each work and owner.
As the regulatory authority, the Commission has the power to suspend and revoke the license of a CMO. Other sanctions it can impose include a written caution, disqualification of the principal officer of a CMO and payment of fines.
Duties of a CMO
Part of the duties of a CMO is to keep a register of its minutes of meeting, and submit same to the Commission within 30 days; including reciprocal agreements, adoption of new tariffs and any alteration of the memorandum and articles of association.
In furtherance of its duties, it also owes to the right owners; the distribution of royalties to its members, it must not mandate a member to assign them (CMO) to collect royalties from other CMOs, It must not mandate a member to mandate them to be the sole collecting agent. It must provide at the request of a member, the annual statement of accounts, list of persons that constitute the governing board of the organisation, auditors’ report and overall remuneration paid to any director or employee.
Finally, a CMO owes a duty to the users as follow: the description of rights or classes of rights it administers; the current licensing arrangements, tariff, terms and conditions; when there is a change in tariff, a CMO must inform the users; and where there is misrepresentation or negligence on the part of the CMO to the user, the CMO shall be liable to pay compensation to that user.
Unethical Practices of a CMO
Every CMO is expected to follow best global practices in order to collaborate transparently with its members and users of copyright works. The following are the unethical practices of a CMO: a CMO must not grant a licence for a work that it is not authorised to administer; it must not collect and distribute royalties in respect of works for which it is not authorised to administer; it must not make false representation in respect of any matter to which it is required to provide information; it must not discriminate in the provision of licence to members of the same user class; and finally, It must not induce a user who is in the process of negotiating for a license against another CMO.
Holding Account
A holding account is an account that holds the royalties that the CMO was unable to distribute to the right owners; such as in the event of a dispute regarding the amount of the royalty, or where the CMO is unable to locate the owner of the work. The royalty can only be held in the holding account for seven years and at the expiration of the seven years, the royalty is returned to the CMO’s general revenue account, which will eventually be distributed to the members of the CMO.
Dispute Resolution Panel
Where a dispute arises from any matter that falls within the purview of the CMO Regulations, it may be referred to the Commission for mediation and arbitration. A dispute resolution panel may be set up to hear the dispute and the decision of the Commission on the dispute shall be final on the parties, unless it is set aside by a competent court of law.
For Registration purposes, please contact the CMO Unit at the Head Office. Phone number: 09019011258, 08069561607; email: ainafolarin@gmail.com.