IFLA responds to WIPO’s call for recommendations to improve the Good Practice Toolkit for Collective Management Organizations and ensure the transparency, good governance and proper functioning of CMOs.

In 2018, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) called for recommendations on its Good Practice Toolkit for Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). IFLA, EIFL and ICA had already proposed improvements to ensure the proper functioning of CMOs, including reminders of the importance of independence from governments, good governance and transparency in the operations of collective management organisations. We also stressed that the funds collected should not be used for lobbying purposes against libraries, archives and museums and proposed functional clarifications necessary to ensure a balanced copyright ecosystem such as exceptions and limitations to copyright.

In 2021, WIPO reopened a call for contributions to the Good Practice Toolkit for CMO’s providing an opportunity for the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and its partners Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA), Electronic Information For Libraries  (EIFL), International Council on Archives  (ICA), International Council of Museums  (ICOM) and Society of American Archivists (SAA) to continue to support its positions.

In this letter, we have argued for the importance of transparency and good governance of CMOs as essential to the fair and efficient functioning of libraries, archives, remuneration of authors and the credibility of the copyright system.

You can download our recommendations as a PDF

Amendments to the WIPO Good Practice Toolkit for Collective Management Organizations (2021)