The Moldovan Rightsholders Association MORA, which was created at the end of 2021 in response to challenges experienced in the field of copyright and related rights, but also as a result of people of culture’s complaints, became the target of obscure attacks launched by order. Constantin Pădure, MORA general manager, said that it all started when his team revealed all kinds of illegalities in the field and this aroused dissatisfaction.
In a press briefing at IPN, Constantin Pădure noted that the Association was founded to formulate a strategy for reforming, digitizing and transparentizing the collective management field. Work began with the systematization of materials on copyright offenses committed over the years. A series of complaints to law enforcement agencies, Parliament and other institutions followed.
“The actions taken by us obviously displeased particular individuals, groups of people and associations that are directly interested in maintaining the worsening situation in the field of copyright so that they can continue to serve their pecuniary interests without being held to due account. Therefore, together with our colleagues and members of MORA, we became the target of obscure attacks aimed at defaming and demotivating the MORA team,” stated Constantin Pădure. Among the impediments, he mentioned the refusal by the State Agency on Intellectual Property to allow MORA to manage the copyrights of its members and pay them the remuneration they deserve.
Artistic director of the National Philharmonic “Sergey Lunkevich” Marian Stârcea, a member of the Board of AO MORA, said that he cannot understand why an organization is denied the legitimate right to verify copyright compliance. “If there are more organizations, they should compete with each other to see which of them works better? I see no problem with this healthy competition existing. But in our country, someone controls everything and things do not work as they should work in a civilized country,” he stated.
Chairman of the Literary Fund of Moldovan Writers Nicolae Rusu, a member of the Board of AO MORA, said that this state of affairs is due to a detail stipulated in the law, namely that AGEPI grants a work permit and, in the absence of such a permit, a copyright collective management organization cannot work. “I believe that this provision should not exist. If the association is registered, it should work. There should be competition and users should choose which association to cooperate with,” stated Nicolae Rusu.
“My indignation stems from the fact that the same people hold the same positions and collect this money is collected. It seems that we are developing, approving more European, more humane laws, but the same people remain to manage things,” said businessman Sergiu Postică.
Note: IPN Agency offers the right to reply of persons who consider themselves targeted in the news made from the statements of the organizers of this press conference, including by facilitating the organization of another press conference under similar conditions.
