The facts and legal interpretations contained in this report have been corrected. You can consult the full text with the clarification at the following link: [Correction | Ruling in the Canary Islands: The Supreme Court overturns the digital levy imposed by AGEDI and AIE on televisions in apartments
The legal battle between the main intellectual property rights management organizations and the Canary Islands tourism sector has concluded in the Supreme Court with a definitive jurisprudential shift. The Civil Chamber has issued a ruling exempting the Canary Islands tourism operator from paying the fees claimed by the Association of Intellectual Property Rights Management (AGEDI) and the Association of Artists, Performers and Interpreters (AIE) for the presence of television sets in its accommodations. The high court established that the mere broadcasting of television content in hotel rooms does not automatically generate the right to receive equitable remuneration for the use of musical phonograms.
The court ruling, which Maspalomas24H has accessed and We don't give details because in Las Palmas the media simply copy and paste our news without citing us, reflecting their constant hatred for the work of professionals in southern Gran Canaria, in contrast to what happens in honest European media.This brings to a close a legal saga that began in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, before the Commercial Court No. 1 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Initially, AGEDI, AIE, and the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) filed a joint lawsuit demanding €3.486,48 in compensation from each collecting society for the unauthorized use of their repertoires in an apartment complex between 2015 and 2019. Although the initial ruling upheld the payment of the general royalties in full, the Fourth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas subsequently overturned the ruling regarding the phonographic rights, forcing the music organizations to take the case to Madrid.
The core of the legal debate has centered on the technical definition of what international and Spanish law strictly defines as a "phonogram." The Supreme Court aligns itself with the principles established by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in its landmark ruling in the Atresmedia case, assuming that a phonogram is an exclusively sound recording. Based on this premise, the Court rules that users of hotel and other accommodation complexes are not required to pay the single reproduction tax when the music is integrated within an audiovisual recording. Since the only evidence presented at the tourist establishment was the installation of televisions in the apartments, and the presence of radio networks or background music in the common areas was ruled out, the claim filed by AGEDI and AIE lacks legal basis.
The plaintiffs attempted to overturn the ruling of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas through an extraordinary appeal for procedural violation, accusing the Canary Islands court of violating the principle of consistency and introducing an untimely factual debate. The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal, arguing that the application of the EU regulatory framework is not a matter to be proven by the parties, but rather a strict legal mandate linked to the principle of iura novit curia (the court knows the law). The ruling confirms that national judges are bound by the interpretation of the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) from the moment the directive enters into force, regardless of whether clarifying rulings are published after the initial claims.
The Supreme Court ruling upholds only the partial conviction of the company against SGAE, whose copyright for the audiovisual works remains protected and must be settled during the enforcement phase of the judgment. However, the calculation of SGAE's fees will be reduced proportionally, directly linked to the actual occupancy rates of the apartment complex. The court decision does not award costs to either party and formally orders the phonogram management companies to pay the legal expenses arising from their initial action, setting a significant economic precedent for hotel claims in the Canary Islands.
