STJ decides that Ecad can charge royalties for soundtracks of movies shown by a movie theater chain

STJ decides that Ecad can charge royalties for soundtracks of movies shown by a movie theater chain

At the end of February, the 4th panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled in a case involving the collection of Copyright (DA) for soundtracks of films shown in units of a movie theater chain.

The dispute began in the 1990s, when the 1973 Copyright Law (Law 5.988/73) was still in force. At the time, the cinema chain won a victory in the Santa Catarina Court of Justice (TJSC) and Ecad, for its part, was considered illegitimate to collect DA against the group, as it had to prove that it represented the owners of the musical works. In the argument put forward by the movie theater chain, there were no supporting documents of representation signed between Ecad and the authors whose songs were part of the films shown.

Thus, after Ecad filed an appeal, the TJSC extinguished the action without resolving the merits, following the understanding of other courts in the country and deciding that there was no legal relationship between the parties and, therefore, that it was impossible to charge DA.

In 2018, Ecad appealed to the STJ. According to the law firm, the substantial changes made to the current LDA with Law 12.853 of 2013, in addition to better defining Ecad’s attributions (Arts. 97, 98 and 99), brought in a series of instruments that exempt it from establishing these agreements on a case-by-case basis with each of the owners (Art. 98-A).

In the judgment, the rapporteur, Justice Raul Araújo, considered that the entry into force of Law 9.610/98 established a new legal regime for the protection of DA, and thus enabled Ecad to propose new actions to collect from the cinema chain. The judges also highlighted the fact that the movie theater chain that was a party to the lawsuit is the only one in Brazil that doesn’t pay DA for the soundtracks of the films shown in its theaters, which is a form of economic advantage that the company would be taking over others in the same industry. Thus, the appeal was partially upheld, by a majority, to remit the case back to the TJ/SC for analysis of the merits of the action, considering that there was no violation of res judicata.

The case can be accessed via the following link: : https://processo.stj.jus.br/processo/pesquisa/?termo=REsp+1.799.345&aplicacao=processos.ea&tipoPesquisa=tipoPesquisaGenerica&chkordem=DESC&chkMorto=MORTO

Note: For quick release and cost control, this English version is provided by automated translation without human review.