The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has authorised Viscopy Limited and Copyright Agency Limited to enter into a service agreement under which Copyright Agency Limited will provide various services to Viscopy Limited and its members.
The service agreement will result in Copyright Agency Limited fully managing and administering the day-to-day operations of Viscopy Limited’s business including licensing, data management, record keeping and distribution.
“The ACCC considers that the service agreement will result in significant cost savings to artists and licensees, and operational efficiencies for the administration of copyright licensing,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
The authorisation provides statutory protection for Viscopy Limited and Copyright Agency Limited to jointly discuss and negotiate common terms and conditions for the services provided by the parties to their respective members and licensees, including fees or commission levels charged and the scope of the services provided by both or either of the Applicants.
“The ACCC considers that the detriments from this agreement, if any, will be small due to the very limited overlap of competition between the parties, meaning that for the most part they do not and will not compete with one another, regardless of whether this agreement proceeds or not,” Mr Sims said.
The ACCC has authorised the service agreement for 5 years.
Authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.