Meltwater’s four-year battle with the Copyright Agency has been resolved, with The Copyright Tribunal today ruling that it has accepted the Copyright License proposal put forward by Meltwater almost in its entirety.
The Tribunal soundly rejected the proposed license structure from The Copyright Agency. Instead, it accepted in full the offer proposed by Meltwater, as well as ruling that Meltwater is now able to enjoy an expanded set of rights regarding the use and distribution of the content across Asia Pacific. This includes the expansion of the library of content from six to 12 month and the extension of the license term to four years.
The case, which was commenced by Meltwater in 2017, was driven by the company’s desire to set a fair price for content and ensure that there was one set of clear rules that everyone in the industry could follow. In June 2018, iSentia joined the proceedings.
David Hickey, Executive Director, APAC for Meltwater commented “Meltwater is absolutely delighted with the Tribunal’s decision. It is a complete vindication of our efforts over the course of the last four years, and of our commitment to our customers.
“This fight was never about trying to avoid paying a fair payment for content licenses. Rather we were seeking to establish a fair and even playing field and to ensure that our customers would be able to continue to enjoy the level of service and value that we provide them, at a price that would still be feasible for them to pay for that service.
Along the way, our peers joined us in this endeavour and one of them had the conviction to stay the course. We can be proud of today’s ruling,” said Hickey.
Details:
Meltwater Pty Ltd & Ors v Copyright Agency Limited, Copyright Tribunal Proceedings CT2 of 2017; CT2 of 2018.
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