The CNMC’s report concludes that the draft Order does not provide a satisfactory solution to such questions. Despite the low status of Orders in the Spanish legislative hierarchy and their limited capacity to elaborate on statutory norms, this particular Order could contribute towards clarification of existing standards and the prevention of anticompetitive practices.
In this sense, the CNMC provides the following recommendations and observations:
- It is necessary to develop an efficient computational method for tariffs, where remuneration should be a function of such variables as effective use of repertoire and the economic value of the service delivered, not only economic benefits.
- General tariffs should include individual agreements with users in order to prevent discrimination and promote transparency and responsibility of PROs.
- General tariffs should consider the different treatment of users in the radio and television sectors, cultural entities and on-line services. This different treatment may not be in accordance with the harmonized version of the Spanish Intellectual Property Act, and may in fact have repercussions on the principle of competitive neutrality.
- The incentives rendered by the proposed regulation on economic value of services delivered by PROs are too low to foster maximum efficiency.
- The daft Order, as a regulatory norm, may be in conflict with hierarchically superior norms (the harmonized Intellectual Property Act).
- The draft should be revised to introduce the intended simplicity and clarity in tariffs.
The Spanish language news item can be found at: www.cnmc.es
For more information, please contact Consuelo Álvarez