Article 4 Exercise of the rights in retransmission by rightholders other than broadcasting organisations

1.   Acts of retransmission of programmes have to be authorised by the holders of the exclusive right of communication to the public.

Member States shall ensure that rightholders may exercise their right to grant or refuse the authorisation for a retransmission only through a collective management organisation.

2.   Where a rightholder has not transferred the management of the right referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 to a collective management organisation, the collective management organisation which manages rights of the same category for the territory of the Member State for which the operator of a retransmission service seeks to clear rights for a retransmission shall be deemed to have the right to grant or refuse the authorisation for a retransmission for that rightholder.

However, where more than one collective management organisation manages rights of that category for the territory of that Member State, it shall be for the Member State for the territory of which the operator of a retransmission service seeks to clear rights for a retransmission to decide which collective management organisation or organisations have the right to grant or refuse the authorisation for a retransmission.

3.   Member States shall ensure that a rightholder has the same rights and obligations resulting from an agreement between an operator of a retransmission service and a collective management organisation or organisations that act pursuant to paragraph 2, as rightholders who have mandated that collective management organisation or organisations. Member States shall also ensure that that rightholder is able to claim those rights within a period, to be fixed by the Member State concerned, which shall not be shorter than three years from the date of the retransmission which includes his or her work or other protected subject matter.