The Government published on Thursday the Decree 138/25that introduces a reform in the regulation of Collective Management Societies (SGC), which represent authors, artists and creators from various areas. Signed by President Javier Milei, the head of Cabinet Guillermo Francos, and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, the decree was prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Deregulation and Transformation of the Stateamong other organisms.
The reform aims Eliminate monopolies in copyright management and promote the conclusion of direct agreements between creators and users. From now on, the authors will be the direct beneficiaries of their works, without the need for intermediaries.
Collective Management Societies: The changes established by the Decree
The rights holders may be associated with one or more collective management societies or manage them individually. Companies must prove their power to administer the rights to the registration and will be regulated by the National Directorate of Copyright of the Ministry of Justice.
Companies must respect a maximum percentage of 30% for administration expenses and may not intervene when the holders decide to manage their rights individually. In addition, they must establish tariffs proportional to the use of the works and pay the rights within 2 months.
Collective management societies must publish their balance sheets, rates and fund distribution annually. It is also forbidden to maintain funds without distributing, and if the rights holder is not identified within 4 months, the funds will be redistributed among the others represented. Companies must adapt their statutes to the new standards within 180 days.
Collective Management Societies: What is the impact
The decree establishes that copyright holders and related rights may join one or more collective management societies or exercise their rights individually. In addition, it establishes the conditions for a society to be recognized as SGC and eliminate the monopoly of existing entities, creating a General regime for new companies. Transparency and operation requirements are also included so that the authors know how their rights and amounts are managed.
The Ministry of Justice will be responsible for setting the Maximum tariff stops that SGCs can charge users according to the type of work and use. The reform also affects existing societies, such as AADI-CAPIF and Sagai, which must adapt to the new requirements and allow competence and bilateral agreements.
Although the Argentores monopoly remains due to a specific law (Law 20.115), bilateral agreements will be allowed for Establish rates between authors and users.
According to the official statement, “this reform ends the state control established during the de facto regime of President Juan Carlos Onganía 50 years ago, something that had not been approached until the arrival of Milei. It should be remembered that in August 2024, the Government had already made important changes in intellectual property regulations, with Decree 765/24, which redefined the concept of “Public Execution” to exempt certain private places, such as hotels and party halls, the payment of rights to Sadaic and other SGCs. ”
Source: Ambito
