Global leaders in copyright protection trust the KazAK NGO.

The organization, as noted, has firmly integrated itself into the global copyright management system.

https://total.kz/ru/news/ekonomika_sobitiya/mirovie_lideri_po_zashchite_avtorskih_prav_doveryaut_roo_kazak_date_2025_02_272025-02-27 08:07:30

At the end of 2024, domestic organizations for collective management of property rights (OKUP) received a letter from BUMA, stating that the company officially informs about granting the right to license the public use of the BUMA repertoire in Kazakhstan exclusively to the ROO "KazAK".

“We inform you that KazAK is the only organization with which BUMA has entered into a representation rights agreement in the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2014, with automatic annual renewal. Now KazAK is the sole organization authorized to license and collect rights for public performances on behalf of BUMA regarding our repertoire in Kazakhstan,” the letter, signed by Kasper Keller-Arru, Head of International Relations at BUMA/STEMRA, states.

BUMA/STEMRA is a Dutch company dedicated to protecting the copyright of composers and music publishers. Its repertoire includes over 1 million songs. BUMA was established in 1913, just a year after the Dutch Copyright Act was adopted. In 1936, with the widespread emergence of gramophones, which made it possible to copy music, the organization recognized the implications of this technological breakthrough. A fund was created focusing on the reproduction of recorded musical works, ranging from vinyl records and CDs to the internet and mobile phones.

Following the local collective rights management organizations (OKUP), the letter was also received by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“For clarity, only KazAK has the right to grant the necessary permission for the use of the BUMA repertoire in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Without KazAK's permission, no organization or promoter has the right to use it,” the letter states. “If your organization has licensed and collected copyright fees for the use of the BUMA/STEMRA repertoire, we request that KazAK be provided with a detailed report, which should include the following data:

Permissions issued to users on behalf of BUMA.

Amounts collected from each user, as well as the total amount collected on behalf of BUMA.

Distribution of collected amounts from users on behalf of BUMA.”

Another letter received by the Ministry of Justice and domestic OKUPs was from the German organization GEMA.

“We have granted the exclusive right to the Kazakh Authors' Society to license the public performance of works from the GEMA repertoire in the Republic of Kazakhstan. KazAK is the only organization with which GEMA has signed a representation agreement in Kazakhstan and the only organization with the relevant authority to manage the rights to public performances of works from the GEMA repertoire in the republic. All works from the GEMA repertoire are excluded from the list of permissions granted by your organization to users in accordance with the requirements of Article 46, Clause 2 of the Republic of Kazakhstan Law dated June 10, 1996, No. 6-1 “On Copyright and Related Rights,” the letter states.

At ROO "KazAK," it is noted that Germany is literally obsessed with copyright protection. It is no coincidence that it has a reputation as a country where downloading anything from the internet is nearly impossible. There are even lawyers specializing in internet copyright protection, whose job is to track down downloading offenders and send them “letters of happiness” informing them of the fines they need to pay. Therefore, GEMA is a logical continuation of the German policy in the field of copyright protection. They expect the same from the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the OKUPs.

“GEMA expects that every organization will notify users and interested parties in the manner prescribed by law about the exclusion of GEMA's rights from its repertoire, as well as about the exclusive competence of KazAK to grant GEMA rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the letter states.

Additionally, all accredited and non-accredited organizations for copyright management were informed about this.

“All these letters can be found on the website of the Kazakh Authors' Society. Agreements with major European structures show that KazAK is not composed of novices, and the protection of Kazakh authors is indeed being conducted at the international level,” the representatives of ROO "KazAK" are confident.

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