23 June 2023

The 6th edition of the ALAI European Authors’ Right Award – supported by GESAC, has been launched

Are you a law student currently studying or researching authors’ right/copyright? If so, we encourage you to apply for the 6th edition of the ALAI European Authors’ Right Award – supported by GESAC!

In order to inspire the next generation of Intellectual Property experts, GESAC and ALAI are launching the 6th edition of the ALAI European Authors’ Right Award – supported by GESAC in the 2023/2024 academic year. Read about the award’s previous editions here.

The prize, which amounts €2,000 to the winner and €1,000 to the second winner (if awarded), is awarded annually to the best essay related to authors’ rights/copyright with a European dimension.

The candidates must be under the age of 35, students/researcher (see full eligibility criteria), and they must send a one-page summary of the essay before 15 November 2023. The short-listed candidates will have to send their essays before 15 February 2024. The winner will be announced in the first week of April 2024.

Students of all nationalities are welcome to apply.

=> Full eligibility criteria and prize details (French version).
=> Application form (French version).

The jury for the 2024 edition of the award is chaired by Professor Frank Gotzen, President of ALAI and is comprised of two ALAI representatives:
• Paul Torremans, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, University of Nottingham
• Raquel Xalabarder, Catedràtica de Propietat Intellectual, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
and two representatives of GESAC:
• Caroline Bonin, Head of Legal Affairs, SACEM
• Gábor Faludi, outside Counsel for Artisjus, Associate Professor ELTE Law School Civil Law Department

The jury reserves the right not to name a winner if the quality of the essays is deemed insufficient.

Questions, application forms, abstracts, and essays are to be sent to: alai.award@gesac.org

Policies

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence brings about many new opportunities for our lives, including in the field of culture and creativity, but its applications also raise a number of ethical and legal questions due to their wide-spread uncontrolled and unchecked usage.

Policies

Music Streaming

Music streaming has unquestionably become the predominant means of enjoying music, replacing traditional physical media and expanded far beyond the live sector by providing user-friendly, high quality, and affordable access to the largest possible repertoire anytime, anywhere, online, or offline.

Songs and compositions are at the heart of this thriving market, which counts 524 million users on subscription-based music services globally, reaches more than 2 billion users including the streaming on UGC platforms, and offers more than 70 million tracks from approximately 8 million artists.

Yet, the authors and composers cannot benefit adequately from this success, and the debate over unfairness of this market is gaining traction across Europe and around the world.

There is a need to look more closely at how songwriters and composers are connected to this thriving economy and what can be done to improve their currently neglected situation.

Read below to find out more about the Music Streaming market.

Policies

Buy-out contracts: a dangerous threat to European creators

European music creators (composers, lyricists etc.) are being forced to forsake thousands of euros in future earnings by draconian ‘work made for hire’ (WMH) and buy-out contracts.

Online audiovisual services and broadcasters that are mainly US-based are forcing music creators to accept such contracts, which enforce a one-time payment in exchange for their rights.

Given the worldwide popularity of shows and series on platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney etc., and their replay value, the audiovisual market represents an important revenue stream for creators. Soundtracks alone are part and parcel of series and often attract a similar amount of popularity, massively boosting sales, streams and the worldwide fanbase of their authors.

Read below to find out how video on demand (VOD) platforms and broadcasters are circumventing EU law and what can be done about it.

Policies

Authors’ societies & the collective management model

Authors’ societies are hugely beneficial to both authors (creators), users (platforms and services), and the broader public.

Beyond benefiting these different groups, authors’ societies also support the broader cultural ecosystem by funding and promoting cultural and creative initiatives.

Below are five key benefits to authors’ societies and the collective management model.

Policies

The Copyright Directive

In April 2019, the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was formally adopted, a change that will positively transform authors’ rights throughout the EU. Each member state now has until 7 June 2021 to transpose the Directive into their respective national law.

This reform is an opportunity to address pressing issues for authors in the Digital Single Market and will promote the growth of Europe’s creative and cultural industries (CCIs) – a major driver of Europe’s economy.

One of the biggest achievements of this new piece of legislation was to address the
‘Transfer of Value’ problem, a priority issue for all European creators.

Below are some of the Directive’s key areas that will affect creators and those who profit from their work.