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History of COMP

20 Years In The Making!

Founded and incorporated in 2011 (SECP – Incorporation Certificate), and established under the Pakistan Copyright Ordinance [1962], COMP was launched under a directive of The Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO), the country’s central Intellectual Property Authority, and is authorised to function as Pakistan’s first Performing Rights Society (PRS).

Endorsed by the All Music Pakistan Performers Society (AMPPS), the largest body of Artistes and Music Authors in Pakistan, and provided for under Sections 32-34 of the Copyright Ordinance of Pakistan [1962], COMP is entrusted with handling the outsourced function of intellectual property rights management on behalf of its members. As per the Copyright Ordinance, original content creators MUST be justly compensated for the usage of their content during broadcast programming and public performances. Any violation or infringement of copyright is subject to up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 100,000/.

As COMP Members, content users and content creators (owners) are able to utilise each other’s services under the single banner of a PRS.

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Founded and incorporated in 2011 SECP - Incorporation Certificate
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Milestones:

Start

2000

Evaluation visit conducted by WIPO and CISAC. The initial evaluation of the trip surmised that the size of the broadcast market was too under developed to support a sustainable PRS. However, it was concluded that the situation deserved further study.

2007

The IPO establishes contact with industry individuals to conduct a series of workshops on IP strategy, enforcement and legislative issues to strive for compliance of WTO/TRIPS tenets.

2010

Karachi, 28th October 2010 – Then presiding Director General of IPO Pakistan, Mr. Khalid Bukhari officially announces the formation of the CMO shell, pending further tweaks and modifications.

2011

COMP is certified and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee after meeting all compliance requirements of the Securities & Exchange Comission of Pakistan (SECP), keeping in accordance with best practices for Collective Management Organizations (CMOs).

2013

Subsequent to further mentoring, the existing structure and working methodology of COMP is approved and given the go-ahead to begin functioning as a fully compliant Collective Management Organization.

2017

COMP successfully set-up and is running WIPO CONNECT a monitoring/ distribution allocation software which links up with CMOs utilising the system around the globe. The data exportation is ongoing. COMP is the only CMO / PRS in Asia that is invited to use the system.

1996

The initial idea to setup a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) is proposed by music industry related executives, a week before a seminar is held in Karachi by WIPO on the TRIPS treaties, in November 1996.

2005

The Intellectual Property Organisation of Pakistan (IPO) is established and initiates the upgrade of of copyright laws and administrative framework, for IP compliance in the country.

2009

The IPO asks key music industry officials to carry out a study to form a PRS, under the IPO’s patronage with guidance from WIPO/CISAC.

2011

COMP is certified and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee after meeting all compliance requirements of the Securities & Exchange Comission of Pakistan (SECP), keeping in accordance with best practices for CMOs.

2012

At the guidance and request of the IPO, AMPPS featuring more than 140 top grade professional music personalities, is invited to join hands with COMP and seek representation on its council.

2016

COMP initiates a number of meetings in the hope of securing an agreement with the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the largest body of TV and Radio stations in the country. The negotiations continue throughout the year. Reciprocal agreements with CISAC and other independent societies are also sought, specifically in territories where the Pakistan’s indigenous languages are present. Additionaly a training session of COMP staff and management was held at Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, organized by WIPO and hosted by the Malaysian societies - MACP, PPM and RIM who walked participants through their monitoring / collection / distribution systems and structures, imparting invaluable information for the set-up and sustainability of CMOs.

2018

Ongoing negotiations with the PBA culminated in a meeting of music industry stakeholders at the IPO Headquarters in Islamabad in October, to address the state of Intellectual Property Regulation in Pakistan. Chairman IPO - Mujeeb Ahmad Khan stressed the importance of rights remuneration for creators and the collection / allocation mechanisms for royalty distributions - the main functions of COMP. The chairman vowed to expedite an agreement or MoU between COMP and the PBA for licensing the broadcast of copyright music content, a positive step in the right direction. Additionally, COMP signed a number of reciprocal agreements with sister societies worldwide, including SESAC, The Harry Fox Agency, SOCAN, MESAM and the MLC.
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COMP’s main objectives are to represent creators of original artistic and intellectual content, secure their individual rights in an original piece of musical work, authorise the limited use of member’s content by third parties and collect/distribute royalties on their behalf.

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