Why Is It Necessary to Separate Authors' Royalties from Collective Management Remuneration?

 

This was the question posed by John-Willy Rudolph during our trip to Bislig City, Surigao del Sur last September 18, 2011.

Rudolph is the chair of the Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE), the organization established by five collective management organizations (CMOs) in his country to help new CMOs abroad like the Filipinas Copyright Licensing Society, Inc. (FILCOLS).

John-Willy Rudolph reminiscing the first time he landed in 1958 at the pier of the
Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP), Bislig Bay at the age of 17.
(Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura)

He visited Manila to give a talk on the experiences of Kopinor, the reproduction rights organization (RRO) he led as executive director for 24 years, during the 32^nd Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) held at the SMX Mall of Asia, Pasay City on September 11.

The link to his talk at the MIBF is here.

Aside from the author, Rudolph was accompanied by Membership Officer Bebang Siy and Licensing Officer Leo Almonte.

FILCOLS Membership Officer Bebang Siy. (Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura)

A brief background

Copyright is the legal protection given to authors of scientific, literary, artistic, and dramatic works. Works are creative outputs like books, journals, songs, paintings, sculptures, among others. Part IV of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IP Code) lists more examples of works and provides the scope of the protection.

When an author’s work is produced by the book publisher, it is called primary use. Meaning, this is the first time the author directed the publisher to use his or her reproduction right to print copies of the book.

After the books are sold, the author receives royalties. However, second-hand books may be sold without paying the author another set of royalties because he or she has already exhausted the primary use.

Reproduction via photocopying or digital copying is called secondary use. However, the IP Code (Sec. 177.1) states that only the author can authorize the reproduction of his or her work except for small portions that may be covered by fair use.

In many educational institutions, books and other materials are usually reproduced by students and teachers every semester. Without authorization and payment to the authors, the regular and large-scale reproduction of works is obviously not fair.

These large-scale reproductions may violate the authors’ reproduction rights and deprive them of their livelihood thus the need for an RRO, which is a specific term for organizations collectively managing the rights of authors and publishers. CMO is the new, general term that is replacing the older term RRO internationally.

FILCOLS Licensing Officer Leo Almonte. (Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura)

The RRO is the bridge between authors and publishers (rightsholders) and end-users (students, teachers, institutions). They are authorized by rightsholders to offer copyright licenses to institutions. The large-scale reproductions are made legal in exchange for a minimal fee.

In Norway and other Scandinavian countries, the prevailing view among CMOs is that copyright is a human right. This is anchored in Article 27.2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states: every one has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary, or artistic production of which he (or she) is the author.

The IP Code calls them Moral Rights and Economic Rights. These are the two main components of copyright.

Here is how I processed our discussion.

What you can’t name: you can’t identify

Names are necessary to identify something and separate it from similar things. For example, Jupiter has a number of moons, and the massive ones were named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. However, Earth possesses only one, so we call it the Moon.

The names of Jupiter’s moons make it easy and practical to point to the specific moon. And the name makes it stand out from the rest of the moons.

If one cannot name something, one cannot identify that something.

FILCOLS Executive Director Alvin J. Buenaventura.
(Photo by Bebang Siy)

What you can’t identify: you can’t measure

Clear identity and separation of something from the rest of similar things makes it easy to measure it. For example, ordinary Filipino employees receive salaries and allowances. The salary is the basic minimum wage set by the government. Allowances are those benefits provided by the company voluntarily to their employees without government order.

Naming everything the employee receives as “sweldo” or “compensation” will make it hard to measure increases in the basic minimum wage, if there is an order from the government to do so. It will also be hard to measure increases in allowances like transportation, food, medical, and clothing.

If one cannot identify something, one cannot measure that something.

 

What you can’t measure: you can’t improve

I worked for five years as executive assistant to the Chair of the National Book Development Board (NBDB). Out of the many speeches made by Dr. Dennis T. Gonzalez, I distinctly remember the one he made in 2007.

As the NBDB chair, he explained the decision of the board to spend more than a million pesos on the second nationwide Readership Survey. The NBDB is primarily tasked with developing the Philippine book publishing industry. One of the ways to do this is to improve access to books and raise the level of readership.

I remember him saying that we cannot see changes in book access and readership level among our people, especially among the youth, if we do not have a baseline to see whether the interventions are working.

The future heads of the NBDB should make the survey a regular service for the book publishing industry. The survey provides measurable data which can be used to compare with surveys in the future.

 If one cannot measure something, one cannot improve that something.

Applying these to royalties and remuneration

Rudolph said it took them some time in Norway to decide what to call the income right holders receive from Kopinor. There were many names proposed: RRO money, compensation, remuneration, photocopying money.

But not royalties. Because royalties are the income of authors from the sale of their books, given by the publishers. The publishers’ income is not called royalties but sales revenues.

The authors and publishers together are called rightsholders or right holders. Both are members of Kopinor. And, they both receive their share from Kopinor.

Eventually, they settled on calling the income from Kopinor: remuneration. Although many still call it photocopying money especially in relation to the books published under the grant from Kopinor and are showcased in the House of Literature (Litteraturhuset) in Oslo.

Remuneration is the income received by both the authors and publishers from Kopinor. Later, other CMOs followed the custom of using remuneration to differentiate it from royalties.

(L-R) John-Willy Rudolph, Leo Almonte, Alvin J. Buenaventura, and Bebang Siy.

Why the fuss, then?

After naming and identifying remuneration, then it makes it easy to measure it and then improve it.

From the perspective of the CMO, the board and management can monitor the remuneration they are collecting from various licensees. It is now easy to adjust their efforts to see remuneration grow.

If the remuneration increased then their current strategies are working. If the remuneration decreased then they need to sit down, set new directions, craft new plans, and even examine government and international policies to help improve it.

From the perspective of the government and international organizations like the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), International Publishers Association (IPA), among others, they can craft new policies based on the numbers presented to them by their members.

Both the national government (in the case of the Philippines, the NBDB and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines) and international organizations need numbers they can identify and measure to help them decide which way to go or what policy to craft.

And these same numbers are measured after the new policies and interventions were introduced to assess if things improved or not.

FILCOLS' visit coincided with Bislig City's 11th Charter Day celebrations at the Bislig Baywalk.
(Photo by Alvin J. Buenaventura)

Learning from Kopinor’s experiences to build up FILCOLS

Armed with remuneration data, Kopinor was able to demonstrate to its government through the Ministry of Culture that the CMO is contributing much to the country’s economy and culture. They are invaluable to the book publishing industry’s ability to survive, provide employment, and continue producing new works.

They also provide support to the development of their national culture through the new books created via Kopinor’s publishing grant.

Kopinor also financed some of the book fairs managed by the Norwegian Publishers Association.

The same remuneration data is what Kopinor uses to bolster its concerns among international bodies like IFRRO, WIPO, and IPA especially the still uncontrolled and unremunerated digitization of published materials.

Kopinor is not the only country affected by mass digitization. The practice is rampant all over the world especially in countries with increasing internet infrastructure and bandwidth.

Librarians and other staff of the De La Salle John Bosco College
(Mangagoy, Bislig City, Surigao Del Sur)
with Rudolph and the FILCOLS team.  

Following the path of Kopinor, once FILCOLS collects remuneration from its licensees, it can start distributing to the members. This can be used to prove that collective management is viable in the Philippines.

FILCOLS can use its remuneration data to inform the government that it is functioning and that its existence is important for the publishing industry and development of national culture.

And that government (both NBDB and IPOPHL) must ensure that FILCOLS succeeds as the country’s CMO for the book publishing industry.

 

Notes:

NORCODE is composed of Kopinor, TONO, NORWACO, BONO, and GRAMO.

John-Willy Rudolph is also the manager of Kopinor’s Development Fund.

NORCODE and Norway’s Ministry of Culture provides financial support to FILCOLS through a grant which started in August 2010.

 

About the author:

Alvin J. Buenaventura is the executive director of FILCOLS. He is the first officer of a Philippine RRO to participate in the WIPO-NORCODE Training Programme on the Management of Copyright and Related Rights in the Global Economy, which was held in Oslo, Norway (June 2-19, 2009) and Accra, Ghana (December 1-5, 2009).

 

The author allows the reposting of the unaltered article provided the following is included at the end:

Text and photos by Alvin J. Buenaventura. Photo by Bebang Siy.

For more information, please visit https://filcols.blogspot.com

 

 

Reproduction Right: Pro-author

23 September 2011

The Living Letter by Alvin J. Buenaventura of FILCOLS
Translated from Filipino by Beverly W. Siy


The author or the creator of an original work is given protection by the law through copyright. After the author’s death, the copyright will be passed to his/her family. And the family or the heirs will have this protection under the law for another 50 years.

It means that every writer, sculptor, painter or composer has rights over his/her works. And even after their death, their heirs will have exclusive right to use or to give authorization to others to use these works.

Copyright is made up of two things: the moral right and the economic right. The moral right is the right of the author to be acknowledged as the creator of the work. He/she has the right to put her name or a pseudonym as a byline. He/she also has the right not to put any byline at all. He/she also has the right to give permission to anyone who wants to revise his/her work. And he/she has the right to stop anyone from revising it.

The economic right is the right of the author to earn and benefit from his/her intellectual work. How can an author receive remuneration or benefit financially from his/her work? One item under the economic right is called the reproduction right. It is the right of an author to permit the reproduction of his/her work so that it can be read, heard, watched and enjoyed by more than just one person.

Long, long time ago, it was the kings and queens who served as the source of financial support for the writers, composers, sculptors and painters. These artists had very rich and powerful patrons (customers) no less than the kings, queens, princes, princesses, the popes and the bishops.

It was only the patrons who had the capacity to give free board and lodging, meals, allowance, art materials, paper and ink and other material things to the creative people. An example would be the patrons of the painter Michaelangelo: Leo X and Julius II. They are the heads of the Catholic church that’s why Michaelangelo painted scenes with religious themes.

Leonardo da Vinci had different patrons that’s why his artworks had different themes as well. Religious themes were portrayed in his art, there were portraits of businessmen or merchants or the noble people and their spouses and many more.

This system was also reflected in the music scene. Beethoven had some compositions that were created purely for the pleasure of one of his patrons, Prince Lobkowitz.

It seemed that these artists served as the personal photographers and personal musicians of the rich and powerful.

But because of technology and progress of the society, this system is slowly becoming obsolete. Even your father-in-law can be a photographer with the help of the built-in camera of his new cellphone. Of course, you are not allowed to say anything once he yells ‘cheese!’ You just have to flash that smile even if your father-in-law loves to take pictures from a dysfunctional angle, the reason why all of the shots are weird.

The patrons of the artists of our generation are different from the patrons of long, long time ago. They are the wealthy philanthropists who build art museums and open their homes to creative people. Ayala family is one example. It founded the Ayala Museum. Giant corporations like Petron Gas launch art contests. Sometimes it would be the government agencies who act as patrons like the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Government Service Insurance System.

The reproduction right is the reason why there are more than one copy of a work. And because there are many copies, a lot of people are able to buy, read, see and enjoy the work.

Through the sale of each copy, the writer earns. (It is called royalty.) The publisher earns too. This is the life line of the publishing industry.

This system works in the music industry as well. Music publishers are necessary to fund the publication of a song or a musical composition in CDs and other media. When songs or musical compositions are played in the radio, TV, movie, concert or any commercial establishment, the musicians, composers, singers and other people who in the music industry receive payment. That’s how they make a living.

Reproduction right is very important because it serves as the bridge of the consumer/patron/user to the works of the creator.

As long as a work is used, consumed and most especially, enjoyed by the public, it is just right for the authors (writers, artists, musicians and publishers) to receive remuneration. They invested lots of their time, talent and effort in creating the work anyway.

Authors, publishers or heirs of copyright owners are invited to join FILCOLS. We will help you protect your copyright over your works. To join, one only needs to have published works, or one must be the heirs of an author or has the right to manage the rights of an author. Membership is free. If you have queries, email us at filcols@gmail.com.

Buhay na Titik: Tax Exemption para sa Paglilimbag ng Libro

ni Alvin J. Buenaventura ng FILCOLS

Tax Exemption para sa Paglilimbag ng Libro

Ang tax o buwis ang lifeline ng gobyerno. Ang mga buwis na ibinabayad ng mga propesyunal at negosyante ang siyang nagpapasuweldo sa ating mga pulis, public school teacher, at iba pang empleyado ng gobyerno. Ang buwis din ang ginagamit sa infrastructure tulad ng paggawa ng bagong tulay, bagong health center, at bagong school building.

Pero kung mahalaga ang tax bakit ginawang strategy ng gobyerno ang hindi pagbabayad ng tax sa mga piling materyales para mapaunlad ang industriya ng paglilimbag ng libro?

Ang National Book Development Board ang ahensiya ng gobyerno na inatasan ng batas na magpasigla sa book publishing industry. Sila ang nagpapatupad ng National Book Policy.

Isa sa mga implementing policy ang nagsasaad na the tax exemption in the importation of raw materials that shall be used in book publishing shall be maintained.

Ang mga papel, na mahalagang component ng book publishing, ay ang madalas na binibili natin mula sa ibang bansa. At dahil may mga manufacturer ng papel sa bansa, kailangang ma-justify ng mga publisher natin kung bakit imported ang papel na gagamitin nila sa paglilimbag ng libro.

Kapag nakumpleto ng mga publisher sa Filipinas ang mga kahingian ng NBDB ay maglalabas ito ng dokumentong magpapatunay na exempted sa buwis ang imported na papel na papasok sa bansa.

Pinapayagan ng gobyerno ang ganitong siste dahil mas malaki ang benepisyo nito sa ating mga kababayan. Kahit na isang milyong piso ang buwis na mawawala sa gobyerno dahil sa pagpasok ng imported na papel, nao-offset naman ito ng paglago ng local publishers na nagbibigay ng trabaho sa maraming tao.

Siyempre ang tax exemption ay para lamang sa mga piling materyales, hindi sa lahat ng bagay. May business tax, income tax, at iba pa rin namang tax ang nakukuha ng gobyerno sa mga publisher sa ating bansa.

Mahalagang masigla ang mga publisher dito sa atin dahil sa dami ng taong nabibigyan nito ng hanapbuhay. Kaya nasa interes ng gobyerno na magbigay ng mga fiscal incentive para patuloy ang takbo ng mga nasa industriya ng paglilimbag ng libro. Dadami ang may trabaho. At trabaho ang sagot sa kahirapan.

Katuwang ng NBDB sa pagpapaunlad ng industriya ang FILCOLS. Para mas maging malalim at malusog ang iyong kaalaman, bisitahin ang websites namin: www.filcols.blogspot.com at www.nbdb.gov.ph.

Inaanyayahan ang mga awtor, publisher, o tagapagmana ng copyright na sumali sa FILCOLS. Ito’y para mabigyang proteksiyon ang kanilang mga akda. Kailangan lamang ay mayroon kayong published works kung kayo ay awtor/publisher o nasa inyo ang kapangyarihang magmanage kung heirs kayo ng awtor. Wala pong membership fee. Kung may tanong hinggil sa tinalakay na paksa, mag-email lamang sa filcols@gmail.com.

Buhay na Titik: Pagpo-promote ng Hilig sa Pagbabasa

ni Alvin J. Buenaventura ng FILCOLS

Pagpo-promote ng Hilig sa Pagbabasa

Ang pagbabasa ay hindi natural sa tao. Oo, ang pagbabasa ay isang habit na dapat na ma-develop sa isang tao sapagkat hindi tayo ipinanganak na marunong magbasa ng mga letra, salita, at pangungusap. Lalo namang hindi tayo ipinanganak na mahilig magbasa.

Ang natural sa tao ay ang kumuha ng impormasyon mula sa hugis at kulay ng mga ulap, mula sa ihip ng hangin, mula sa init o lamig ng panahon. Ginagamit natin ang mga impormasyon mula sa kalikasan para ma-predict ang panahon.

Natural din sa tao ang makakuha ng impormasyon mula sa facial expression ng ibang tao. Alam ng mga bata kung galit si Nanay. Alam naman ni Nanay kung natutuwa si Bunso.

Kung hindi natural ang pagbabasa sa tao ay bakit kailangan nating matutong magbasa ng mga libro at iba pang reading material?

Kailangan nating magbasa dahil may mahahalagang impormasyon na nakabaon sa mga reading material. At ang ganitong impormasyon ay kailangan natin para lalo pang umunlad.

Ang mga nasa business sector ay puwedeng kumita nang malaki dahil sa tamang impormasyon. Puwede rin silang malugi kung hindi sapat ang kanilang impormasyon. Kaya dapat madalas silang magbasa ng mga magasin, journal, diyaryo, business website, at iba pa.

Ang isang mahirap na bata na matiyagang nag-aral at naging magaling sa pagbabasa ay madaling makakahanap ng trabahong magiging daan sa pag-ahon sa kahirapan.

Ang pag-shoot ng bola ng basketball ay dapat na madalas na pina-praktis. Puwedeng palpak sa unang tira, pero sa madalas na praktis ay madali na ring makaka-shoot. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit kailangan ng regular na praktis ng mga basketbolista at iba pang atleta.

Ganito rin dapat ang gawin ng mga bata o matandang nais na ma-develop ang hilig sa pagbabasa. Maliban sa diyaryo, magsimula ka sa mga babasahin tulad ng “It’s a Mens World” ni Bebang Siy at “Ligo na U, Lapit na Me” ni Eros Atalia. Tapos isunod mo na ang mga libro nina Bob Ong na “Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan,” Jun Cruz Reyes na “Ang Huling Dalagang Bukid at ang Authobiography na Mali: Isang Imbestigasyon” at Jun Balde na “100 Kislap.”

Ang pagpo-promote ng hilig sa pagbabasa ay kinakarir ngayon ng National Book Development Board. Meron silang mga poster na naghihikayat sa mga kabataan na magbasa. Meron silang book club kung saan tinatalakay ang mga bagong aklat. At meron ding Booklatan sa Bayan para mag-train ng mga guro at daycare worker ukol sa mga bagong paraan para ituro ang pagbabasa.

Katuwang ng NBDB sa pagpapaunlad ng industriya ang FILCOLS. Para mas maging malalim at malusog ang iyong kaalaman, bisitahin ang websites namin: www.filcols.blogspot.com at www.nbdb.gov.ph.

Inaanyayahan ang mga awtor, publisher, o tagapagmana ng copyright na sumali sa FILCOLS. Ito’y para mabigyang proteksiyon ang kanilang mga akda. Kailangan lamang ay mayroon kayong published works kung kayo ay awtor/publisher o nasa inyo ang kapangyarihang magmanage kung heirs kayo ng awtor. Wala pong membership fee. Kung may tanong hinggil sa tinalakay na paksa, mag-email lamang sa filcols@gmail.com.

FILCOLS Member Enrique Villasis bags the Top Prize for Palanca's Filipino Poetry Category

FILCOLS member Enrique Villasis won first place for his collection of poems in the 2011 Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature.

The awarding ceremony took place last September 1, 2011 at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati.

Villasis' collection of poems is called Agua. The author said that it was a requirement for a creative writing course in University of the Philippines Diliman where he is taking up Filipino in the masteral level. Villasis is also an active member of Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo, the premiere organization of poets who write primarily in the national language.

Villasis is a writer in ABS-CBN and prior to this, he was FILCOLS' coordinator.

Buhay na Titik: Nasaan ang Plate Number ng Libro Mo?

ni Alvin J. Buenaventura ng FILCOLS

Nasaan ang Plate Number ng Libro Mo?

Noong kaunti pa lang ang mga libro sa mundo, pamagat lang ay sapat na para ma-identify ang mga ito. Kapag “The Old Man and the Sea” siguradong kay Hemingway at ang “Banaag at Sikat” ay kay Lope K. Santos. Maluwag pa ang kalye noon para sa kakaunting libro na umaandar.

Pero dahil sa dami ng bagong author at bagong technology, mabilis na ang pagbuo at pagdami ng mga libro. Kaya kailangan na ng paraan para mabilis at madali silang makilala, mahanap, at maibenta sa mga bookstore o sa internet.

Kung ang kotse ay may plate number, ang libro ay may ISBN. Ang International Standard Book Number ay ang 13-numerong makikita sa copyright page ng libro. Sa back cover naman, makikita ito sa itaas ng bar code.

Ang 13-numerong ito ay pinaghihiwalay ng gitling para mahati sa 5 bahagi. Ang unang grupo ng numero ay nagsasabing ito ay nasa ilalim ng book publishing. Ang ikalawang number ay ang ID kung saang parte ng mundo nakabase ang publisher. Ang ikatlong grupo ng numero ang ID ng publisher. Ang ikaapat ay ang ID ng title ng libro. At ang huling numero ay ang check digit na siyang nagba-validate o nagsasabing tama ang ISBN. Pag mali ang last digit na ito ay invalid o di puwedeng gamitin ang ISBN.

Bakit kailangan ng ISBN kung meron na namang bar code?

Ang bar code ang mga itim na mga guhit na parang pick-up sticks sa back cover ng libro. Sila ang binabaril ni Ate Cashier para malaman natin mula sa cash register ang presyo ng libro. Ang ISBN ay kailangan para makakuha ng bar code.

Ang mga libro lang na may ISBN ang puwedeng ibenta sa mga bookstore o sa internet. No ISBN. No benta.

Ang National Library lang ang awtorisadong magbigay ng ISBN sa mga publisher o self-publishers ng libro at mga produktong katulad ng libro tulad ng audiobooks.

Ang paggamit ng ISBN sa bansa ay isinulong ng NBDB noong 1999 sa paglabas ng National Book Policy. Kahit na sa world publishing market ay ginagamit na ito noong mga 1960s pa.

Dahil sa ISBN, ang mga libro ay mabilis na ma-order, ma-locate, at maibenta. Hindi lang sa local bookstores naibebenta ang ating mga libro, nakakapasok din ito sa information superhighway na mas kilala bilang internet.

Katuwang ng NBDB sa pagpapaunlad ng industriya ang FILCOLS. Para mas maging malalim at malusog ang iyong kaalaman, bisitahin ang websites namin: www.filcols.blogspot.com at www.nbdb.gov.ph.

Inaanyayahan ang mga awtor, publisher, o tagapagmana ng copyright na sumali sa FILCOLS. Ito’y para mabigyang proteksiyon ang kanilang mga akda. Kailangan lamang ay mayroon kayong published works kung kayo ay awtor/publisher o nasa inyo ang kapangyarihang magmanage kung heirs kayo ng awtor. Wala pong membership fee. Kung may tanong hinggil sa tinalakay na paksa, mag-email lamang sa filcols@gmail.com.

Moving Ahead with Enforcement and Licensing in the Book Publishing Industry

Moving Ahead with Enforcement and Licensing in the Book Publishing Industry
32nd Manila International Book Fair
16 September 2011, Friday
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Meeting Room 6, SMX Convention Center,
Mall of Asia, Pasay City

Registration (Participants mainly executives of publishing houses and heads of authors’ groups)
Opening Remarks
Lirio P. Sandoval
President, Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP)

Collective Management of Reprographic Reproduction Rights and the Challenges Posed by Reprography and Digital Reproduction of Protected Works – Kopinor’s Experiences
John-Willy Rudolph
Senior Adviser, Norwegian Copyright Development Association (NORCODE)

CCC licensing and IFRRO initiatives
Bruce Funkhouser
Executive Director, International Division, Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)

Combatting Book Piracy
Atty. Mayet Dagsa
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines

Open Forum

Closing Remarks
Alvin J. Buenaventura
Executive Director, FILCOLS


Moderator: Leo Almonte, Licensing Officer, FILCOLS

FILCOLS AGM follows 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.