Cyprus Parliament rejects regulations on intellectual property and related rights

On Thursday, the Plenary of the House of Representatives in Cyprus rejected regulations concerning the Intellectual Property and Related Rights Authority, as well as regulations regarding the collective management of these rights and the granting of multi-territorial licenses for online music usage. The motion failed with 22 votes against and 16 votes in favor. These regulations aimed to define the operational procedures of the Authority, standardize application forms, and set fees mandated by the law. Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis, Chairman of the Commerce Committee and DISY MP, provided historical context, mentioning that a previous legislative proposal was vetoed by the President and subsequently ruled against by the Supreme Constitutional Court. The government has previously accused the Parliament of preventing the collection of royalties by delaying these regulations. Conversely, Parliamentary members expressed concerns regarding the regulatory framework proposed for the management of intellectual property rights.