The tariffs of the newly negotiated framework agreement shall apply retroactively from 01 January 2011 and be in force until 31 December 2016. A similar agreement between ZPÜ and the hardware manufacturers applicable to other devices enabling users to make copies, such as smartphones, is still pending.

One of the changes, among others, was to determine the criteria for Board member candidates in more detail; other, smaller editorial corrections have been applied as well.

The version now in force dated 21 January 2014 also forms the basis for the GVL rights holders' assembly to be held on 14 February.

A total of 392 members followed GVL's invitation and attended the rights holders' assembly 2014. Moreover, the simplified and expanded regulations for representation had a very positive reception: More than 300 artists were represented for voting purposes by another member. Eight members of the Board were confirmed and remain in office as representatives of their rights holders' group.

Via the initiative's website it is possible to participate in the public consultation by answering a questionnaire and/or to sign a petition for copyright. The contributions thus received shall then influence the reform of EU copyright. On the users' side, thousands have asked for a restriction of the existing scope of protection. As it affects their existence, it is vital that people active in the creative industries take position.

One major change is the closing distribution of GVL remuneration to producers, which had been processed by the Federal Association of the Music Industry (registered association) [BVMI] on a fiduciary basis for four decades; since the end of 2013, GVL now processes this distribution itself. Further modifications affect the granting of extended exploitation rights for the following areas:

With the appointment of the 26-year-old, an adaptation of the groups represented on the Board took p

"By subjecting our external presentation to a contemporary redesign, the advanced strategic change process at GVL becomes visible. This constitutes a further milestone on our way to a comprehensive and profound modernisation," explain Guido Evers and Dr. Tilo Gerlach, GVL's Managing Directors.

The usability of the website has been improved by introducing a menu navigation tailored for our target audience and by implementing latest web standards.

During the portal's development stage, we focussed particularly on the clear arrangement and intuitivehandling/usability. Here are the most important new functions in a nutshell:

The new GVL label research offers an overview of the label codes that have been allocated on a daily updated basis, plus information on the labels linked to the codes. The service is based on modern web technologies. They simplify the way users operate the system and increase the search speed in order to deliver the desired search results much quicker. There are also new and efficient filtering options (e.g. search for archive labels) which improve the quality of the results substantially.

Prof. Ruzicka was appointed to represent the group of conductors and music directors by the associates of GVL, the German Orchestra Association (DOV) and the Federal Association of the Music Industry (BVMI). Reason for this change in Prof. Ruzickas role was the request by our supervisory authority, the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA), to end an over-representation of event organisers in the Board by deleting the previous seat for an appointed representative of event organisers and appoint an additional representative for conductors and music directors instead.