Soundreef: The Court Of Rome Refers The Case Siae-Soundreef To The European Court Of Justice

ROME, ITALY (Top40 Charts) The Court of Rome has dealt yet another legal blow to SIAE (the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers), the agency that formerly controlled the administration of copyrights in compositions in Italy. Following an adverse ruling by the Antitrust Authority for abuse of its dominant position, today, the Court of Rome has suspended the proceedings filed in 2014 by SIAE, referring the case to the European Court of Justice, in support of the objection raised by Soundreef, which claims that the current Italian legislation is not in line with the Regulations imposed by the Barnier directive.

The way is now open for the European Court of Justice to rule that Soundreef did not act unlawfully or act in unfair competition (as claimed by SIAE) given that - at least since 2014 - it was entitled to operate in Italy.

"An extremely important decision - explains Davide D'Atri, CEO of Soundreef S.p.A. - which acknowledges - even if not yet definitively - what we at Soundreef have been claiming since we entered the Italian market. We believe that the administration of copyrights in Europe is free and open to anyone - whether they are bodies that collectively manage rights or independent management entities - wanting to manage the rights of songwriters and publishers, provided that they comply with the European rules and guarantee transparency, efficiency and, most of all, respect for the freedom of choice of those who make their creativity, talent and art available to the public."