NEWSLETTER Q2 2021

10 stream ripping sites blocked in Peru.

Our industry has secured its second blocking order against ten stream ripping sites in Peru. The order requires ISPs to block access to some of the most popular stream ripping sites globally including Flvto, Notube and Mp3-youtube.download. In December 2020, Y2mate, the most popular stream ripping site in the country at the time, was blocked. Following the implementation of the block, total visits to the site from Peru have declined by over 84%. This action represents another positive step in our industry’s efforts, coordinated by IFPI, against stream ripping sites globally.

IFPI’s global strategy to tackle streaming manipulation delivers further results in Brazil.

Following close and ongoing collaboration between the Association for the Protection of Phonographic Intellectual Rights (APDIF), IFPI’s national group Pro-Música Brasil and Cyber Gaeco, the cybercrime unit of the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office, 10 music streaming manipulation sites have shut down and 20 sites ceased to offer the activity. An additional 35 listings for music streaming manipulation services were removed from the online marketplace Mercado Livre. These positive outcomes follow the closure of the prominent TurboSocial in October 2020 and reflect IFPI’s commitment to tackle this harmful practice globally.

Panama’s public radio and TV broadcaster (SERTV) agrees to pay performance rights.

On June 22, the organizations representing phonogram producers and performers in Panama (PRODUCE and PANAIE, respectively) and SERTV signed a cooperation agreement that aims to educate the community about copyright and related rights through radio and TV programs. Upon signing this agreement, SERTV’s director, Giselle González, received a certificate for the licenses that have been granted to SERTV (i.e., communication to the public of phonograms and dubbing of phonograms for their subsequent communication to the public). Panama’s government thus ratifies its commitment to rights holders and leads by example in the compliance of Copyright Law.

IFPI holds seminars with region’s copyright offices.

IFPI has held virtual meetings with the intellectual property registries of Costa Rica and Guatemala to outline the state of the music industry today, not only globally and in Latin America, but also locally. The increasing role being played by the sector—linked to the creative industries and the intensive use of technology—is worth noting. IFPI has also had the opportunity to collaborate with the National Directorate of Copyright of Panamá in virtual work sessions intended to explain to the market why broadcasters and commercial venues need to acquire a license for the communication to the public of phonograms. Additionally, IFPI was the keynote lecturer at the forum on website blocking and digital piracy in the music industry, sponsored by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) of Mexico.

New performance licenses granted in Latin America.

Despite the disruptive impact of the pandemic on leisure and entertainment, the collective management societies representing performers and phonogram producers in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to make progress on their commercial efforts with the trade associations of the sectors which suffered the most from the closures for public health reasons and the COVID-19 containment measures. The societies know how difficult it is for commercial venues to stay a viable business in this context, and their sensitive approach has allowed them to incorporate new clients under special conditions. Some examples of these fruitful commercial efforts are the agreement with AGREPI (the Restaurant Association of Pichincha, Ecuador), the agreement between the Association of Restaurants and Related Businesses of Panama (ARAP) and the agreement with the Palacio de Hierro Group in Mexico, and the license agreement with the State-owned TV channel Guatevisión in Guatemala.

Major legislative activity in the region’s national congresses.

Several legislative proposals have recently been introduced to some of the region’s national congresses in relation to copyright and related rights. In Colombia, Senate Bill No. 049 that proposed numerous and excessive obligations for online music services was finally withdrawn by its author by late May. In Brazil, there is a proposal to partially reform the Code of Criminal Procedure (PL 388 and PL 356) that includes penalizing the removal of content from online platforms without a court order. This has raised concerns given the damage that said reform might cause to the voluntary removal of unauthorized content that our industry promotes on a daily basis. In Peru, sectors linked to copyright and related rights brought forward a number of objections to a legal reform proposed by the government, which seeks to impose new and excessive regulations on collective management societies. As a result, this proposal has not yet reached the floor in Congress. In Mexico, our industry is following with interest the draft bills submitted to both houses that propose eliminating some of the most important provisions contained in the reform to the Federal Copyright Law in 2020. These proposals include replacing the notice and stay-down system with the obligation to file a court order to get unauthorized content removed.