The MLC currently maintains a database of nearly 50 million works. Thanks to the visibility into our song data, along with our ongoing outreach efforts, we have received a significant number of new works registrations from collective management organizations (CMOs, or “societies”) based outside the U.S.
Sometimes, these new claims conflict with existing claims submitted by U.S.-based publishers or administrators. When this happens, The MLC follows its Dispute Policy to address – and help facilitate the resolution of – these conflicts, just like it does with any other type of conflict.
Why Do These Conflicts Occur?
The scope of rights administered by CMOs outside the U.S. can differ from the scope of those rights administered in the U.S., which can cause confusion when registering works with The MLC. In the U.S., The MLC handles digital audio mechanical royalties, while performing rights organizations (PROs) handle performance royalties. Outside the U.S. — particularly across Europe — it is common for some CMOs to manage both mechanical and performance royalties.
In addition, those CMOs may receive the right to collect a certain percentage of mechanical royalties for the works they represent that are from uses that take place in the U.S. — uses The MLC administers. As more international CMOs register works with The MLC, their U.S. claims may conflict with claims previously submitted for the same works by U.S.-based publishers or administrators. For that reason, in each instance, the parties involved should confirm their respective rights to collect mechanical royalties on each specific work to ensure each conflict is resolved accurately.
What You Should Know
Disputes involving international CMOs are resolved the same way that any other dispute is — with the parties determining which entities have the right to collect royalties from The MLC and the amount of their respective claims. As with all conflicts and disputes, The MLC does not decide which party in the dispute is right; we can only facilitate the resolution of the dispute by engaging the parties involved in accordance with our Dispute Policy.