The Estonian Perspective on the Transposition of the Directive on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights

Abstract

The article considers some key aspects of transposition of the Directive on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights into Estonian legislation. Estonia’s collective management system has been in place for more than 20 years without any substantial need for review. It is therefore disputable whether the requirements created by the directive improve the Estonian copyright system or not, but the complicated task of transposition is underway nonetheless. Some fundamental amendments are to be made, the most important one being the introduction of state supervision exercised over collective management organisations. In addition, the article addresses further challenging practical and theoretical issues such as cross-border rights management, the compatibility of activities of collective management organisations with competition regulations (with respect to abuse of dominant position), and matters of cultural diversity that are important to Estonia as a small country.