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Australia: Music monopoly ARPA re-applies for cartel legalization

By  |  July 7, 2013

Australia’s dominant music copyright company ARPA, which is considered a collection agency as it collects copyright royalties, reapplied to act as a legal cartel to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. According to reports, the ARPA holds a monopoly worth $160 million on the market from collecting copyright royalties for musicians. Under Australian competition law, collection agencies are exempt from retribution over holding a monopoly. The ARPA must reapply for that status to the ACCC every three years, say reports, though hikes in royalty fees have lead bodies like clubs and bars, which play the copyrighted music, to issue a slew of complaints to the watchdog.

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