Neighbouring rights to copyright do not protect the work itself (musical composition or text), but the recording itself and the way in which these works are transmitted.
The regulations (copyright law L. 633/41 - articles 73, 73bis, 72, letter a and subsequent amendments) provide for the exclusive right of producers to authorise the reproduction, communication, making available to the public and duplication of their phonograms.
To broadcast recorded music in a public place - whatever the means used (radio, TV, CD, computer, mp3 player, Internet) - it is therefore necessary to recognise a fee to the phonographic producers who own the musical recordings and to the performers.
This fee is different and independent from that due to SIAE for copyright (which protects the work itself).
The role of collecting societies
Neighbouring rights are collected by collective management societies - composed of artists, phonographic producers and other industry professionals - which distribute royalties to their principals or to their associates. Collecting societies are the main entities responsible for protecting related rights.
Necessary requirements
Legislative decree 15 March 2017, n. 35 transposes the directive 2014/26/EU on the collective management of copyright and related rights and on the granting of multi-territorial licences for rights on musical works for online use in the internal market and establishes the necessary requirements to ensure the proper functioning of the management of related rights by collective management organisations. AgCom ascertains the existence of the requirements (pursuant to art. 8) by the collective management organisations of neighbouring rights and verifies their effective organisational and management compliance.
SCF is the reference collecting society for the collection and distribution of related rights in Italy and appears in the list of brokerage companies published on the AgCom website