The Agreement on Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) entered into force on May 27, 2019. It was signed in 2017 in Moscow by EAEU member states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
The Agreement harmonizes the legislation and the procedures related to collective rights management in all EAEU member states and regulates collective management organizations (CMOs) interaction with the right holders and the users of copyright-protected material.
According to the Agreement, all CMOs are required to distribute the collected royalties to rights holders at least once a year. CMOs are also required to hire independent auditors to review their financial statements at least every other year. CMOs will face liability for not distributing the royalty payments according to regulations, for making more deductions than necessary for their own expenses or social, cultural and educational purposes, and for not fulfilling the obligation to conduct mandatory audits.
The entrance into force of this Agreement is a step forward in the process of establishing the unified IP system in EAEU. On December 6, 2018, the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) signed the Agreement on EAEU Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin. The Agreement will become effective after the EEC adopts additional regulations governing its implementation, which is expected in 2020.
