The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) decided that the Central Office of Collection and Distribution (Escritório Central de Arrecadação e Distribuição – ECAD), which is responsible for enforcing copyrights on musical performance, cannot impose fines that are not established in a specific legal decree.
The ECAD had fined a municipality that promoted a City Hall music festival without previously paying for the corresponding copyrights. The fine, however, was based on internal rulings from the ECAD. The STJ determined that, although the municipality´s conduct was unlawful, the ECAD will only be allowed to impose such a fine after the enactment of a specific legal decree for this purpose.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.