European Collecting Societies Update

According to an artcle from the IPR HelpDesk, "collecting societies" are voluntary associations of authors, interpreters and other right-holders for the purpose of protecting their conceptual and financial interests in an intellectual property or in their services at home and abroad.

European institutions have initiated the first steps in adopting a community legal framework for collecting societies. The European Parliament presented a report in December 2003 and the European Commission published a communication in April 2004.