Media Study - Medija centar Beograd

In addition to the traditional copyright collection society, SOKOJ (Serbian Music Authors' Organization) 43 new
collecting societies have been established:
OFPS – Organisation of Producers of Phonogramsof Serbia 44 (the biggest phonogram producer in Serbia is
RTS)
PI – Organization for Collective Management of Interpreters' Rights 45 .
Independent audiovisual producers and broadcasters are not organized in an individual collecting society yet and
thus do not collect/receive money. 46
Small broadcasters have problems negotiating and reporting to collecting societies. During interviews stakeholders
repeatedly complained that the level of copyright royalties was set in arbitrarily and was sometimes distributed
equally arbitrarily to customers and users.
Amendments to the existing copyright act adopted by the end of 2009 which address the regulation and level of
royalties have not yet had any practical effects.
43 Sokoj protects rights of composers, songwriters, arrangers and other right holders in respect of musical works of all genres. Sokoj - Serbian
Music Authors' Organization was founded in 1950. It is the oldest and until recently the only organization for collective protection of music
copyright and related rights. It represents, on the basis of their authorizations, over 9.000 domestic authors and copyright holders, and more
than 2.000.000 foreign authors, on the basis of 101 bilateral agreements concluded with foreign copyright societies.
Sokoj is presently organized as a very model of contemporary European society for collective management of copyright. Sokoj performs its
activity on the basis of Copyright and Related Rights Act as revised and adopted in December 2009 (Official Gazette of RS no. 104/2009) and
appropriate authorization obtained, in accordance with the law, from Intellectual Property Office. As a non-profit organization, performs two
basic groups of activities:
- issuing licenses for public performing and broadcasting protected music works;
- collects adequate remuneration from users of those works; distributes and effects payment of collected remuneration, to authors and other
copyright holders both in the country and abroad.
44 www.ofps.org.rs
45 Organization for Collective Administration of Performing Rights, abbreviated Organization PI, under Copyright Law of Serbia and collective
management license performs the following: 1.collection and distribution of performer's remuneration for broadcasting and communication to
the public of performances from the published phonograms; 2.collection and distribution of performer's remuneration for making available to
the public of performances, by wired or wireless means; 3.collection and distribution of performer's remuneration for rental of the
performance; 4.collection and distribution of performer's remuneration for private copying; and 5. to provide protection for foreign holders of
performers and ensure protection of Serbian performers’ abroad by concluding bilateral agreements with foreign CMOs.
Founders of Organization PI are societies/unions of performers that represent majority of performing artists in Serbia (including but not limited
to singers, classical instrumental players, musicians, dancers) - www.pravainterpretatora.org
46 AGICOA has been representing international independent producer rights in Serbia in cooperation with SOKOJ some years ago. This
cooperation is not running nowadays – following the actual information by the AGICOA board.
AGICOA is an international, not-for-profit organization established twenty five years ago to track and distribute royalties on retransmission of
the products of independent producers. It represents clients worldwide and operates under the terms of audiovisual copyright law established
by the Berne Convention and the provisions of the Cable and Satellite Directive. Since 2000, they have collected and distributed over half a
billion euros of royalty payments on a portfolio of more than 700.000 audiovisual products (www.agicoa.org).
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