Claus Kucher wrote to me recently:

> Hello Robbie!  Recently there was a discussion in the MMD about the
> question of copyrights, when Karl Ellison published RealAudio files
> at his web site.
>
> Maybe interesting also is what I just found at
>
> http://www.datenautobahn.de/musik/online-magazin/gemaundnet.htm
>
> Servus!
>
> Claus

The web master of www.datenautobahn.de ("Data Freeway"), Reiner
Tatje, wrote to GEMA, the German copyright licensing agency, for an
opinion about music placed on Internet public web sites.  This is
the reply from GEMA (translated by me):

> Dear Mr. Tatje,
>
> We're happy to answer your questions.
>
> If you place the music works so they're observable on the Internet,
> the approval of the respective music publisher is required.  ...
>
> The country where the server on which the music resides is immaterial;
> the location of the content provider is crucial.  The home page of a
> German business in the German language is obviously a music-use
> in the region of Germany, therefore license must be acquired from GEMA.
> We refer you to our On-line Music Use ...

The essence is that a copyrighted work placed at a public web site must
be licensed for use.  This includes the web pages of private individuals,
even if no profit or money is involved.  The agency's unique monopoly
status is explained at the GEMA web site (with excellent English versions,
too):  http://www.gema.de/

"GEMA is the oldest, best-known and economically the most important
collecting society in Germany. Its name is a clear indication of its
field of activities:

  "Gesellschaft fuer musikalische Auffuehrungs- und mechanische
   Vervielfaeltigungsrechte (Society for Musical Performing Rights
   and Mechanical Reproduction Rights)".

"GEMA understands its function in the broad sense: it not only acts as
a collecting society, but also stands up nationally, internationally
and in the EC for the legal advancement of copyright, which in economic
terms represents the other side of intellectual property.

"GEMA was founded in 1903. The composer Richard Strauss is considered
to be the founding member of GEMA.

"The legal basis for all the collecting societies in Germany is the
1965 copyright administration law.  The main reason for this legal
framework in Germany is the virtual monopoly of collecting societies
in the respective fields: e. g. in GEMA's case the field of music. In
order to avoid the risk of GEMA abusing its monopoly status, it is
subject to strict supervision and controls by the President of the
German Patent Office, who attends all the Board of Supervisors'
meetings, by the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Antitrust Office) as well
as by the Cartel Supervisory Body of the EC Commission."


An interesting paper, in English, is presented at

    http://www.gema.de/eng/public/jahr97/index.html

    Collecting Societies in the Information Society*
    - Economic and legal aspects -
    by Prof. Dr. Reinhold Kreile and Prof. Dr. Juergen Becker

The authors thoroughly discuss the basis of copyright and licensing,
and suggest the path for licensing within the expanding European
Community.  It's quite sensible.

Robbie Rhodes