COSBOTS Joins IFFRO To Boost Superior Administration And Management Of Reproduction Rights
Correspondent | Monday October 15, 2018 13:01
IFFRO is an independent organisation established on the basis of the fundamental international copyright principles embodied in the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions to facilitate on an international basis, the collective management of reproduction and other rights relevant to copyrighted works through the co-operation of national Reproduction Rights Organisations (RROs).
Through its members, it supports creators and publishers alike and provides internationally a common platform for them to foster the establishment of appropriate legal frameworks for the protection and use of their works.
IFRRO works to develop and increase public awareness of the need for effective RROs like COSBOTS to support joint efforts of publishers, authors and other right holders to develop rights management systems world-wide.
It also facilitates co-operation amongst RROs as well as with creators, publishers and their associations. Through this work and its fight against copyright infringement and unauthorised use of text and image based works, IFRRO stimulates creativity, diversity and investment in cultural goods as a useful tool for right holders, consumers, the economy and society as a whole.
When making the announcement recently, COSBOTS CEO, Lesego Selotate noted that, “Joining and starting to actively participate in IFRRO could not be more timely, as many creators and publishers are seeking effective ways of protecting their works and that they are equitably remunerated for use of their works. IFRRO will assist COSBOTS in its collective management efforts through its platform which will aid the process of developing robust rights management systems that will help users meet these compliance requirements for the protection of copyright works.”
He added that licensing of users of copyright material under the management of reproduction and other rights relevant to copyrighted works can typically account for 50-60% of incoming revenues for COSBOTS and beseeched Users to adhere to COSBOTS regulations by paying for the user of right owners’ works.
Management of reproduction rights by COSBOTS will play a critical role in the organisation’s growth trajectory and we are determined to maintain the highest levels of compliance by users.
According to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act, any entity engaged in exploiting copyright works, in any way that warrants payment of royalties for such exploitation in Botswana, is placed under an obligation to ensure that they understand the requirements of the Act, including inter alia, the legal obligation to comply with the provisions of the Act. In Botswana, the aforementioned Act gives COSBOTS the mandate to legally control the rights of authors and publishers alike, and the right to grant licences to those needing to exploit/use protected works in any manner as contemplated by the Act.
COSBOTS will be using the most comprehensive technology solutions to register authors and publishers and to monitor usage to ensure compliance in payment for the exploitation/use of protected works. The rights management system will be able to support the broadest range of data types and repositories, on premises and in the cloud.
It empowers the organisation to be able to successfully execute distribution to right holders with its internationally recognised right of access. Selotate also said that there are strategies that the organisation will implement to simplify and automate the process of ensuring users pay for the exploitation/use of protected works.
The Board and Management of COSBOTS look forward to connecting with other IFRRO members worldwide and working together to address compliance challenges, unique and shared, in a seamless manner that ensures COSBOTS meets the required international standards of collection management.
Readers are informed that COSBOTS has partnered with University of Botswana – Department of Visual Arts and Performing Arts to co-author tailor-made articles on this column aimed at developing and nurturing talent, and to give guidance to Artists who wish to commercialise their talent by empowering and capacitating them on personal development and growth.
For more information or comments, contact the Corporate Communications department.
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