When you compose a song or prepare a script, you are the owner of the intellectual property. This is referred to as copyright and grants you the exclusive right to your work. This also applies if you perform something, such as dance or theatre, or act as a producer of, for example, a film. In such cases, the rights are commonly called neighbouring rights. If others wish to use your work, they must seek your permission and, in most cases, provide financial compensation for the use. This is where Norwaco becomes involved.
Norwaco ensures that copyrights and neighbouring rights are managed appropriately. We set terms, negotiate remuneration, and ensure that agreements are in accordance with the Norwegian Copyright Act.
The agreements we enter into on behalf of our members, and others for whom we hold mandates, are often supplemented by the so-called “extended collective licence” provisions in the Norwegian Copyright Act. Extended collective licensing means that Norwaco's counterparts – the exploiters of copyright – receive a fully covering licence and a “guarantee” against claims from contributing right holders who are not affiliated with Norwaco's member organisations or other contractual parties from which we have mandates to negotiate terms.
Extended Collective Licencing
In cases where works are used on a large scale, such as when TV distributors offer hundreds of TV channels to their subscribers or teachers copy from published works for educational purposes, it is often unmanageable and practically impossible for the user to obtain consent from and pay remuneration to each individual rights holder involved.
When Norwaco enters into agreements on the distribution of TV and radio channels and the recording of TV and radio programmes for educational use, these agreements are supplemented by provisions on “extended collective licensing” in the Norwegian Copyright Act. “Extended collective licensing” entails that the agreement Norwaco concluded with users on behalf of right holders we represent directly through membership or mandates, is extended to cover also works created by rights holders who are not affiliated with Norwaco. This includes both Norwegian and foreign right holders.
Advantages of Extended Collective Licencing
For users, this means that the agreement in practice will cover all rights within the relevant area of exploitation. For right holders, the system of ECL’s means that both organised and non-organised right holders are bound by the terms of the agreement, and the agreement will therefore also have effect for right holders outside the organisations, including foreign rights holders.
An important side to the system of extended collective licensing, is that such non-represented right holders are given the same right as the right holders represented directly to receive shares of remuneration collected for the exploitation.
To ensure that the collected remuneration also benefits foreign right holders, Norwaco enters into agreements with foreign organisations representing copyright holders. They undertake the responsibility to distribute the collected remuneration to their national right holders, both members as well as non-represented right holders.
In certain cases, right holders may also prohibit use under an extended collective licence agreement. This is done by informing Norwaco that they wish to prohibit the use of their works. However, there is no right of prohibition for simultaneous and unaltered retransmission of broadcast programmes or for the recording of broadcast programmes for educational use. Such uses are subject to mandatory collective licensing and have no option to prohibit the exploitation.
Approval as ECL organisation
Norwaco is approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture as an organisation that triggers extended collective licensing in the following areas under Section § 57 of the Copyright Act:
- Simultaneous and unaltered retransmission of works included in broadcast transmissions
- Start-over and other time-shifted services, as well as online storage of TV programmes (nPVR)
- Use of broadcasting companies' TV and radio archives
- Making TV programmes available in publicly accessible places
- Streaming of TV programmes in connection with teaching
Norwaco is also approved under Section § 46 as an extended collective licensing organisation for agreements covering recording of broadcast programmes for educational use. The Ministry of Culture has also approved Norwaco under the general extended collective licensing provision in Section § 63, second paragraph. This regards the reproduction and making available of Norwegian-produced audio and audiovisual material internally for visitors in public libraries and museums.