Music Publishers Association

Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society Limited (MCPS) has outlined the extent of its alignment with the regulations implementing the Collective Rights Management (CRM) Directive in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

The goal of the CRM Directive is to ensure that collective management organisations (CMOs) act in the best interests of the right holders they represent. It outlines the following policy objectives: to modernise and improve standards of governance, financial management and transparency of EU CMOs; to promote a level playing field for the multi-territorial licensing of online music; and to create innovative and dynamic cross-border licensing structures to encourage further provision and take-up of legitimate online music services. The Directive was implemented into UK law in April 2016.

Whilst MCPS does not meet the definition of a CMO due to its ownership and management structure, it has consulted with the IPO regarding the requirements of the CRM Directive and wishes to show its commitment to the principles of the Directive by setting out publicly the ways in which it either achieves or strives toward alignment with the UK regulations to the extent that is possible given the ownership structure of MCPS.

In striving to show its commitment to the principles with of the Directive to the fullest extent possible, MCPS has documented its compliance through an MOU with the IPO, which will be reviewed annually. The IPO has agreed to monitor MCPS’s compliance with the statements set out in the MoU. MCPS welcomes the Directive as a framework for its efforts to continually improve its own standards.

Ros Lynch, Director of Copyright and Enforcement said: “We welcome the conclusion of this Memorandum of Understanding, which gives valuable clarity to MCPS’s members and users about the standards they can expect. We look forward to continuing to work with MCPS to monitor their progress“.

Jane Dyball, CEO, MCPS, said: “MCPS wholeheartedly welcomes the CRM Directive’s principles of transparency, representativeness, accountability, efficiency and fairness and fully appreciates the commitment shown by the IPO in ensuring full compliance with those principles throughout our industry”.

—–ENDS—-

Notes to editors

About MCPS

Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society Limited (MCPS) is a UK licensing body owned by the Music Publishers Association Limited (MPA). The MPA is a company limited by guarantee, with over 260 members. These include the world’s largest music publishers, independent pop publishers, classical publishers, production music publishers and printed music publishers. MCPS has over 20,000 writer members and over 6,000 publisher members and offers blanket licences, licensing schemes and individual licences on behalf of its members.

The mechanical rights encompass (i) the right to make (or authorise) recordings that reproduce a musical work, (ii) the right to import (or authorise importation of) such recordings and (iii) the right to issue (or authorise the issue of) such
recordings to the public. The rights controlled by MCPS are licensed to licensees in three main areas of business: recorded media, online and broadcast.

About the IPO

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property rights, including copyright.

Enquiries

The MPA: Jen Hall / [email protected] / +44 (0)20 3741 3808