Walter Merricks CBE has been selected by the British Copyright Council to conduct an independent review of its code of conduct framework for collecting societies in the UK.
Increasing the transparency of UK collecting societies
The framework was developed in 2012 by the UK collecting societies’ umbrella organisation,
the British Copyright Council, to increase transparency of how collecting societies operate.
It is being reviewed a year on to ensure it is still fit for purpose.
Walter Merricks, former Chief Financial Ombudsman, will begin his independent review in November 2013. He will start by gathering evidence from the Ombudsman, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the British
Copyright Council and collecting societies including DACS, as well as users of copyright material. His findings will be published in a report.
Minister for Intellectual Property, Lord Younger said:
Independent review is at the heart of the collecting societies' self-regulatory framework. It will ensure that the system retains the confidence of all the parties involved. I welcome the appointment of Walter Merricks as the Independent Code Reviewer. I look forward to meeting him and reading his report in due course.
Read our Code of Conduct
DACS is one of 14 collecting societies across the creative industries who have adopted the code of conduct framework outlined in the British Copyright Council’s
Principles of Collective Management Organisations’ Codes of Conduct.
Read our Code of Conduct to find out more about how we operate and what to expect from us if you are an artist who receives royalties, or a licensing customer, or an art market professional who administrates the Artist’s Resale Royalty.
Image: Walter Merricks CBE © Daniel Montuschi