On March 2nd, Law 2/2019 amending the Spanish Copyright Lawwas published on the Official Bulletin.
The aim of the law is to incorporate to the Spanish copyright system two EU directives. On one hand the Directive 2014/26on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market. On the other hand, the Directive 2017/1564 on certain permitted uses of certain works and other subject matter protected by copyright and related rights for the benefit of persons who are blind, visually impaired o otherwise print-disabled.
The main changes that entered into force last March 3rd are explained in the following lines.
One of the most relevant amendments is the new competence of the Intellectual Property Commission (Second Section). According with article 195.6, the Commission may block websites that infringe the intellectual property law in a serious and repeated manner, without the need for judicial authorization.
The applicability of this measure is subject to two conditions; - which will be exclusively assessed by the Second Section - the existence of "major” and "continuous infringement”.
The modifications that apply to collective management societies are also relevant. The internal functioning of the management societies is modified by introducing the obligation to create a support body for the general assembly, which will be functionally independent. The main function of this body will be to internally control the governing and representative bodies of the entity in several tasks: distribution of collected rights, processing of complaints and claims, disciplinary records, control of budget execution, etc.
Another important amendment is that multi-territorial licenses are regulated for the first time in the Spanish legal system. These licenses make it easier for online music service providers to obtain the necessary permission, through a single cross-border authorization, to use rights over works or musical repertoires in the territory of several Member States and even throughout the European Union (art 171)
Finally, the last remarkable change is the modification of the participation right (art. 24). The new wording of this provision includes two very important amendments. On the one hand, the resale price which generates this right is now reduced to 800 euros. On the other hand, it is established that the right of participation will be made effective through the collective management entities.