Argentina Eliminates Copyright Fees for Private Use

By Estudio Chaloupka

Through Decree 765/2024, published on August 28, 2024, in the Official Gazette, the Presidency of Argentina has amended the Intellectual Property Law to eliminate copyright fees for the reproduction of works in private settings.

Article 36 of Law No. 11.723 stipulates that authors of literary, dramatic, dramatic-musical, and musical works have the exclusive right to authorize, among other things, the recitation, representation, and public performance of their works.

According to the decree, it was necessary to redefine "public performance" to clarify, with a current and reasonable scope, its applicability and to ensure effective protection of authors' rights, excluding from its scope performances or representations conducted in a private setting, with restricted access for the general public, whether permanent or temporary.

The amendments to the law establish that:

-A public performance or representation is defined as one that occurs—regardless of its purpose—in a space accessible to the public, open, and intended for a plurality of people. There is no public performance or representation when it takes place in a private setting, whether permanent or temporary.

-Public performance of a musical or cinematographic work, records, sound films, radio and television broadcasts, and their retransmission or diffusion through loudspeakers is considered when performed by live performers or singers, as well as when conducted through mechanical, electronic, or digital means, including the Internet.

-Collective management societies have the right to receive equitable remuneration from any person who, either occasionally or permanently, benefits economically, directly or indirectly, from the public use of a work, and, in general, from anyone who performs a public performance by any direct or indirect means.

-Public performance is deemed properly remunerated when an establishment uses a public performance license granted by the right holders, their heirs, representatives, collective management societies, or a platform authorized by them to offer such licenses.

-No compensation will be required for occasional uses of a didactic nature or for patriotic commemorations in official or state-authorized educational institutions.