Provisions Relating to “Pledge Creation Recordation of Economic Rights” and “Compulsory License for Unidentified Copyright Holder” Under the “Draft of Cultural & Creative Industries Development Act” Passed Final Reading for Legislation.

The Legislative Yuan passed the Draft of Cultural & Creative Industries Development Act after deliberation.  Article 23 of the Act provides that the cultural & creative industries may apply for creation, assignment, alteration, extinguishment or disposal restrictions (among others) of the pledge of the economic rights derived from the industries with the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.  Meanwhile, Article 24 of the same Act provides that where it is impossible for the user to acquire the relevant license of any published work to produce some cultural & creative products due to unidentified economic rights owner or unknown whereabouts of the economic rights owner, after the user make every endeavor to seek the license, the user may utilize the work for the purposes as permitted after explaining the reasons for failure to acquire the license to the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters, being granted the license by the said specialized agency upon verification, and also depositing the consideration for the license.

The pledge creation recordation of economic rights referred to in Article 23 of the Act may facilitate the funding for pledge creation of the economic rights derived from the cultural & creative industries and secure the transactions.  Further, the compulsory license for unidentified copyright holder referred to in Article 24 of the same Act provides the user with a legal channel for utilization of the work created by any economic rights owner whose identity or whereabouts remain uncertain due to the work being age-old or any other causes, thereby facilitating the utilization of works and development of the cultural & creative industries in this country.  The above provisions are expected to produce such substantial effects as boosting the cultural & creative industries funding channels and facilitating the re-use of age-old works.

Article 23
The concerned party shall apply for creation, assignment, alteration, extinguishment or disposal restrictions of the pledge of the economic rights derived from the cultural & creative industries with the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.  For failure to comply with this requirement, the party shall have no locus standi against third party acting in good faith, unless the pledge is extinguished upon combination or extinguishment of economic rights or secured creditor’s rights.
Any person may access the contents of recordation referred to in the preceding paragraph upon request.
The regulations governing recordation referred to in the first paragraph and access to the contents referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be stipulated by the competent authority under the Copyright Act.
The specialized agency in charge of copyright matters may commission the operations referred to in the first and second paragraphs to a private organization or group.

Article 24
Where it is impossible for the user to acquire the relevant license of any published work to produce some cultural & creative products due to unidentified economic rights owner or unknown whereabouts of the economic rights owner, after the user make every endeavor to seek the license, the user may utilize the work for the purposes as permitted after providing the reasons for failure to acquire the license to the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters, being granted the license by the authority upon verification, and also depositing the consideration for the license.
The specialized agency in charge of copyright matters shall publish the license referred to in the preceding paragraph in the Government Gazette in a proper manner.
The consideration for the license referred to in the first paragraph shall be equivalent to the reasonable license fee payable for the general works upon free negotiation.
Any reproduction of the cultural & creative work completed under the license referred to in the first paragraph shall identify the date of approval, docket number, and conditions and purposes of the license granted by the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.
The approaches to apply for the license and calculate the consideration referred to in the first paragraph, as well as any other requirements to be complied with, shall be stipulated by the competent authority under the Copyright Act.
The specialized agency in charge of copyright matters shall revoke the approval for the license obtained in accordance with the provision of the first paragraph, where it is subsequently discovered that the application contained misrepresentations.
The specialized agency in charge of copyright matters shall revoke the approval for the license obtained in accordance with the provision of the first paragraph, where the licensee does not exploit the work in the manner approved by the specialized agency in charge of copyright matters.  (2010.01)
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