On the 30th of July 2024, officials from the Commission on Protection of Competition, with the assistance of officials from the Ministry of the Interior, carried a dawn raid at the premises of Musicautor. The inspection was conducted after obtaining judicial authorization from the Administrative Court - Sofia District. It followed after the initiation of proceedings, which aim at establishing a possible infringement of Article 15 of the LPC and/or Article 101 TFEU on the one hand, and Article 21 of the LPC and/or Article 102 TFEU by Musicautor.
The Commission will investigate whether Musicautor applies unfair practices in the determination and payment of royalties to copyright holders, while benefitting unreasonably from their rights in the form of excess revenue. Such a behavior could deprive copyright holders from their fair share of revenue, which would reduce their stimulus to create new musical and literary works. As a result of that, competition between the different categories of artists will be affected. In turn, this would also deprive consumers from the benefits of the creative achievements of the authors of musical works, lyrics, musical arrangements, etc.
During unannounced inspections, the officials of the Commission have the power to access, examine and seize any documents and records related to the activity of the undertaking, irrespective of the medium on which they are stored, as well as to seize devices for transmission of information and material evidence.
Once the procedural steps are completed, the Commission will issue a final act on the proceedings.
The full text of the Decision is available in the public electronic register of the CPC: https://reg.cpc.bg/
