CLDP hosted a delegation from Armauthor, the only collective copyright management organization of authors’ rights and related rights in Armenia, as well as representatives from the Intellectual Property Agency of Armenia and the Ministry of Culture of Armenia, for consultations in Washington, D.C. and New York City.  In Washington, DC, the delegation met with representatives from USPTO, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia, AFM/AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, SoundExchange Inc., the U.S. Copyright Office, and the Future of Music Coalition.  In New York, the delegation met with the Actors’ Equity Association, the Dramatists Guild of America, the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), Harry Fox Agency, SESAC, Inc., the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI). 

The meetings were designed to instruct Armauthor and other government representatives on how to effectively and efficiently manage a collective copyright agency, raise public awareness of the importance of intellectual property protection, and gain insight on how U.S. collective copyright associations work.  The delegation learned about the role of U.S. legislation in copyright protection, in addition to international agreements to which the U.S. is a signatory, as well as specific organizational practices including: licensing (blanket and individual), for-profit versus non-profit, the role of government oversight, royalty distribution, board management, the roles of publishers and artists, and the evolving role of performance rights organizations (PROs) with the increased use of internet for artistic consumption.

CLDP will continue to cooperate with Armauthor, both assisting the organization with capacity building through relevant trainings and materials acquisition, as well as technical assistance to raise awareness in Armenia of the importance of collective copyright management.