FILCOLS enters the last stage in international agreements with Malaysia, India at the IFRRO World Congress and General Assembly in Iceland
The Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. (FILCOLS) reached the last step in the bilateral agreements with the Malaysia Reprographic Rights Centre (MARC) and
the Indian Reprographic Rights Organization (IRRO) at the sidelines of the
International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO) World
Congress and general assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland on October 4.
“Once signed by the chairs of MARC, IRRO, and FILCOLS, the two new international agreements will bring our total to 19 collective management organizations (CMOs) from different countries,” said Regina Reyna “Reg” V. Pastor, FILCOLS
membership officer.
Bilateral agreements allow CMOs to exchange repertoire. This means the works
managed by FILCOLS will become part of the portfolio of MARC and IRRO, and vice
versa.
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| FILCOLS and MARC at the ceremonial signing in Reykjavik, Iceland. (L-R) Ahmed Hussain Tajuddin (MARC), Anita Huss-Ekerhult (IFRRO), and Reg Pastor (FILCOLS). Photo by Pranav Gupta. |
MARC led by its chief executive En. Ahmed Hussain Tajuddin and Pastor
posed for the ceremonial signing of the documents in the presence of Anita
Huss-Ekerhult, IFRRO’s new chief executive officer and secretary general.
MARC was established only in 2021 through the support of the Intellectual
Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), and IFRRO.
This year, the Malaysian CMO immediately signed its first license
agreement with an international school operating in the country.
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| FILCOLS and IRRO at the ceremonial signing in Reykjavik. (L-R) Pranav Gupta (IRRO), Anita Huss-Ekerhult (IFRRO), and Reg Pastor (FILCOLS). Photo by Ahmed Hussain Tajuddin. |
Publisher and chief of the Indian CMO Mr. Pranav Gupta represented IRRO
during the ceremonial signing of the bilateral agreement documents.
“We also used the opportunity offered by the networking sessions to
initiate talks with other CMOs from Malawi, Ghana, Jamaica, United Arab
Emirates, and Belgium,” Pastor added.
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| FILCOLS and COSOMA. Reg Pastor with Lightwell Kachigamba Benjamin of the Copyright Society of Malawi. Photo by Pranav Gupta. |
Pastor is the lone representative of FILCOLS and the Philippines to the
four-day event which started on October 2 and ended on October 5.
As a mentee in IFRRO’s ASEAN Mentorship Program, she made a presentation
to update the officers and delegates on her progress and the status of FILCOLS.
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| Anita Huss-Ekerhult and Reg Pastor. Photo by Sarah Tran. |
The Congress, hosted by Iceland’s CMO Fjölís, also welcomed IFRRO’s new
chief executive officer Anita Huss-Ekerhult. She replaced Australian lawyer
Caroline Morgan who sadly passed away in July this year due to cancer.
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| Reg Pastor with IFRRO President Tracey Armstrong. Photo by Sarah Tran. |
The IFRRO Secretariat provided a two-day
networking session to encourage members to connect and build relations with
other member organizations.
Due to the request from members, they also gave room to each Regional Committee
and Working Group to tackle issues and developments in their organizations.
National Reports were also presented and one of the highlighted topics is the
rise of artificial intelligence.
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| The Congress brought together 140 delegates from all over the world. Photo by Reg Pastor. |
The regional committees are made up of the Asia Pacific, European Group,
African, and Latin American and the Caribbean. The working groups are made up
of the Visual, and the Newspaper and Periodicals.
To cap the Congress, IFRRO prepared a Gala Dinner at the Iceland
Parliament Hotel to allow delegates to relax, enjoy sumptuous food, talk, and
dance.
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| Reg Pastor presenting before the members of the Asia Pacific Committee. Photo by Pranav Gupta. |
“I am happy to see Reg develop from a frightened and shy person to a confident
FILCOLS officer,” said FILCOLS executive director Alvin J. Buenaventura.
“Despite traveling alone to far away Iceland and being delayed in Istanbul
and Amsterdam for one day, she did not lose heart. I had to coach her along the
way via messaging app to assure her while waiting for hours for her luggage,
and instruct her about rebooking her flight, among others.”
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| Reg Pastor with IFRRO's Sarah Tran. Photo by Pranav Gupta. |
Despite his inability to physically participate in Congress due to his health condition, Buenaventura
facilitated the application of Pastor so she could travel and stay in Reykjavik
with the grant provided by IFRRO. He also mainly crafted her reports and
presentations.
The authors allow the reposting of the unaltered article along with
photos provided the following is included at the end:
Text by Reg Pastor and Alvin J. Buenaventura. Photos by Reg Pastor, Ahmed Hussain Tajuddin, Sarah Tran, and Pranav Gupta. For more information, please visit http://filcols.blogspot.com
