Tekijänoikeuden yhteishallinnointi ja sopimusehtojen kohtuullisuus
Avainsanat:
kohtuullistaminen, sovittelu, tekijänoikeuden yhteishallinnointi, lisenssisopimukset, kilpailuoikeusAbstrakti
Collective copyright management and fairness of contract terms
In the article, the authors discuss the collective management of copyright and fair contract terms, focusing especially on the licensing of musical works. Collective copyright management is one of the essential features of copyright law – in many cases, collective management enables the mass use of copyright-protected content. Furthermore, the legislative interest in the development of collective management has been driven by increased technological neutrality. The legal
framework is particularly interesting because the collective management organisations typically hold significant market power, but also because the users of copyright-protected content are not a single interest group, but a rather diverse set of entrepreneurs. Because of the dominant market position of collective management organisations, the fairness of contract terms can be assessed both in terms of private law and of competition law. In both situations, the assessment of fairness follows similar guidelines. However, the specific significance of various arguments, such as the general pricing level, varies depending on the individual circumstances of each case. The authors determine the relevant criteria for assessing the fairness of contractual licensing terms and examine their significance both in the context of individual contracts and in relation to competition law. There are some other issues that can be identified as well: For instance, finding a suitable tariff model for basis of comparison can be difficult due to the special market position of the collective management organisations. Furthermore, due to the widespread use of licensing contracts and the significant economic interests, the regulation of collective management organisations is crucial. This requires the identification of the relevant regulatory authorities as well as seamless cooperation between them.
