PLR in Hungary

hungary

In November 2007 the ten writers’ organisations of Hungary founded jointly the Hungarian Literary Authors’ Collecting Society ( HLACS) which was registered as an NGO in March 2008 and which will administer the Hungarian PLR system when it gets under way.

PLR has to be included in the copyright legislation. Throughout 2008 there were negotiations between the two ministries that are concerned, the Ministry of Culture and Education, and the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement and the existing collecting societies of Hungary. The new copyright legislation will cover more than just PLR and it is that is holding up submission of the bill to parliament.

Originally the ministries planned to enforce the new copyright law by January 2009. It would have meant that in 2009 HLACS could start collecting the loans data and in 2010 the first payments could be made. At the last moment the Ministry of Culture and Education announced that there was insufficient funding in 2010 to begin payments. According to the plans it would be between HUF 200-300 million (around EUR 80 000–120 000). Authors organisations are campaigning for the 2010 start date to be brought forward.

In March 2006 negotiations continued between the Hungarian Patent Office and the two main departments of states – the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry for Cultural Heritage over the changes to Hungarian copyright legislation that will be needed to implement the lending right aspects of the 1992 EU Lending Right Directive.

Several schemes for the administration of Hungarian PLR are on the table. But, so far, it hasn’t been agreed where the funding should come from. Will the State fund the system directly through an agency or through the libraries in the form of extra subsidies? How much should authors receive in the form of PLR payments? So far there are no reliable figures for book holdings or loans in libraries.

(updated november 2008)