FILCOLS Invites Top Foreign and Local Experts to Speak on Best Practices in Royalties Distribution

In celebration of its Annual General Meeting, the Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. (FILCOLS) invited Bruce Funkhouser of the Copyright Clearance Center (http://www.copyright.com/) and Ceasar Apostol of the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (http://www.filscap.com.ph/) to speak on the best practices in the distribution of royalties to rightsholders. The special event was held last 14 September 2012 during the 33^rd Manila International Book Fair held at the SMX Mall of Asia, Pasay City.

Bruce Funkhouser presents CCC and IFRRO perspectives on royalties distribution

Funkhouser is CCC’s vice president for Distributions and International. He is also vice president of the Brussels-based International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (http://www.ifrro.org/).

Established in 1978, CCC is the world’s largest reproduction rights organization (RRO) and one of the founding members of IFRRO. To date, CCC has distributed over USD 1 billion to its rightsholders.

Rightsholder is a term for the holder of copyright like authors, publishers, heirs of authors or other entities with proper authorization.

Funkhouser said that CCC adheres to the IFRRO Code of Conduct and is guided by four core values.

First, CCC distributes remuneration efficiently and expeditiously. Second, CCC remuneration also approximates actual use as far as possible. Third, he stressed the importance of transparency “by publicizing distribution plans which explain the manner and frequency of payments with sufficient detail.” Lastly, distribution should be in accord with applicable national and international laws.

Funkhouser explained that they manage more than 60 million works. The use of a special website helps them track use of works while helping the rightsholders update their titles, rights, and fees. The website is https://rightscentral.copyright.com/

For the 60 million works, this means that if ten works with their details are printed on an A4, one will need 6 million sheets of A4.

Peewee Apostol presents FILSCAP royalties distribution

Better known in the music industry as Peewee Apostol, he is a member of the Board of Trustees at FILSCAP and heads its Distribution and Documentation Department. Aside from FILSCAP, he is also a Trustee and vice president of the Music Copyright Administrators of the Philippines (MCAP).

Established in 1965, FILSCAP is the music collective management organization (CMO) in the Philippines. It is a member of the Paris-based International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (www.cisac.org).

As a member of the international organization, Apostol said that FILSCAP complies with CISAC’s “resolutions and Professional Rules for Musical Societies” These provide music CMOs around the world with “principles governing the fair and equitable distribution of royalties.”

FILSCAP Board also formulated its Distribution Rules which was approved by its members and its affiliate music societies abroad.

FILSCAP receives copyright fees from music users like TV and radio stations, malls, restaurants, hotels, websites, KTVs, and concert producers. FILSCAP determines the frequency and nature of the use of music through monitoring reports and cue sheets. These are submitted to them by the music users, their members, and their sister societies abroad.

Copyright fee or remuneration should be paid by end users because producing copyrighted works like music is the livelihood of artistic people.

From FILSCAP’s gross revenue, the distributable revenue is calculated after subtracting “all expenses incidental to the management and operation of the society,” provision for reserves if needed, and “provision for the promotion and development of Filipino music and culture (socio-cultural fund).”

Both CCC and FILSCAP have provisions for a socio-cultural fund.

Apostol said they manage more than 20 million copyrighted songs which includes the “Happy Birthday” song. He said that with their more than one thousand members and bilateral agreements with 40 foreign music societies, FILSCAP manages “approximately 90% of the copyrighted songs that are being publicly played in the Philippines.”

The FILCOLS special event was organized in cooperation with the Book Development of the Philippines (http://www.bdap.com.ph/) and the Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA).

  

Lawyer and Rex Group of Companies honcho Dominador D. Buhain was present during the special event. Atty. Buhain is president emeritus of PEPA. He currently heads the Asia-Pacific Publishers Association.

Atty. Dominador D. Buhain during the open forum

Aside from authors and publishers, also present were FILCOLS chair Dr. Isagani R. Cruz, vice chair Karina A. Bolasco, board members Marne Kilates and Jose Paolo M. Sibal.

Funkhouser was accompanied by Michael Healy, CCC’s executive director for Author and Publisher Relations. Prior to the Philippines, Funkhouser and Healy visited Japan. The other countries they will visit are Singapore, Australia, and India.

FILCOLS received technical help from CCC as part of the Milestones Bilateral Agreement which was signed during the IFRRO World Congress in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2011.

FILCOLS operates from a grant from the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (www.norcode.no/) and the Norwegian RRO Kopinor (www.kopinor.no/).

(l-r) Jose Paolo M. Sibal, Karina Bolasco, Dr. Isagani R. Cruz, Bruce Funkhouser, Michael Healy, Atty. Kristina P. Castaneda, and Alvin J. Buenaventura

 All photos by Sainah Alonzo.