Los Angeles-based music licensing platform Pex has partnered with the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center to provide what it claims to be “an industry first” – an impartial human review system for copyright infringement.
The system is intended for use by all of those who create and house content, including creators, rightsholders, and platforms.
This partnership follows Pex’s news from February that it secured $57 million in an investment round with participation from Tencent, Tencent Music Entertainment, the CueBall Group, NexGen Ventures Partners, Amaranthine, and others.
In a statement announcing the new partnership, Pex says that “a universal solution capable of resolving rights conflicts has yet to exist” which, it says, makes “dispute resolution over the use of copyrighted material on user-generated content (UGC) platforms a frustrating and inconsistent experience for all those involved”.
In response, Pex, in collaboration with the WIPO Center, is launching what it calls the “first neutral, third-party copyright dispute resolution service”.
A specialized agency of the United Nations servicing 193 member states, WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information, and cooperation. The WIPO Center offers alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options to court litigation, enabling parties to settle their IP and technology disputes.
The new service is available within Pex’s Attribution Engine – a real-time marketplace that identifies, attributes, and licenses copyrighted content before it’s published.
Pex’s Attribution Engine, which the firm has previously described as “the licensing infrastructure for a better Internet”, identifies a copyright match on a platform, and then issues a license based on the rightsholder’s wishes.
If a creator believes their content is clear of copyright infringement, they can raise a dispute in order to clear the content for distribution.
Attribution Engine then verifies if the claim is valid and informs the rightsholder. If escalation is needed, either party can request that a copyright expert, appointed by the WIPO Center, reviews and decides if a use is infringing or if it falls under an exception to copyright law.
The WIPO Center maintains a list of external experts specialized in digital copyright and content. The platform is indemnified by Pex from any legal risk once they comply with the panel’s decision.
“By equipping Pex’s dispute resolution process with the WIPO Center’s appointed copyright experts, platforms won’t have to make difficult judgment calls on whether content is infringing copyright,” said Pex in a statement.
“Creators are empowered to publish content with the confidence that it won’t be taken down later, and rightsholders can monitor and capitalize on the content they own.”
“Creating this innovative procedure for copyright disputes solves an incredibly technical and legal challenge that has long impacted creators, rightsholders, and platforms.”
Rasty Turek, Pex
“Creating this innovative procedure for copyright disputes solves an incredibly technical and legal challenge that has long impacted creators, rightsholders, and platforms,” said Rasty Turek, founder and CEO of Pex.
“It’s an honor to partner with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the global expert in intellectual property dispute resolution, in providing the full creator economy with an independent assessment for copyright dispute.”Music Business Worldwide
