Munich, Germany - A German court has ordered Dutch collecting society Buma/Stemra and digital music service Beatport to stop distributing tracks in Germany for which German collecting society GEMA claims the rights.

Buma/Stemra said in July it had granted Beatport a Pan-European license to offer the entire worldwide repertoire of music, including GEMA's repertoire, online throughout the European Union.

GEMA argued successfully before the Mannheim Regional Court that Buma/Stemra was only entitled to license GEMA's repertoire for use within its own administrative territory.

"We are pleased that Mannheim Regional Court has reaffirmed GEMA's legal viewpoint that a collecting society cannot grant licences covering the repertoire of other collecting societies without permission," said Dr. Harald Heker, chief executive of GEMA.

British collecting society PRS also successfully sued Buma/Stemra and Beatport over EU-wide licensing of its repertoire.

The European Commission decided in July to remove the obstacles for a Pan-European licensing system for digital music amongst the various right collection societies in the EU's individual countries.

Related Links:
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=236869

http://snipurl.com/3qju1 (DMW previous coverage)

http://www.bumastemra.nl/en-US/

http://www.gema.de/en