Beatport's new European license has already run into a German court order.
The injunction issued today names Beatport and Buma/Stemra. It says Beatport cannot make certain works from GEMA's repertoire available in Germany without GEMA's permission.
That is a sharp change from the announcement in July. Buma/Stemra said its agreement with Beatport covered online music use across the European Union. GEMA says the Dutch organization cannot grant these German rights. The Mannheim court has now put that disagreement into an order affecting the store.
Beatport accepted the order as final for itself. The broader argument over European licensing is not finished. PRS and Buma/Stemra are also in court over which organization can license which repertoire outside its home territory.
I work on Beatport's technology, not its licensing agreements. What is clear from the order is narrower: the store cannot treat one European agreement as permission to offer every represented work in Germany. The rights organizations are still arguing about authority across national borders.
The internet part is immediate. A file can be delivered to a customer in another country as quickly as it can be delivered in Denver. The permission is not equally simple. It depends on the work, the organization representing it, and the country where Beatport is making it available.
Today the German boundary is explicit. Certain GEMA works require GEMA's permission before Beatport can offer them there. The July agreement remains subject to that restriction while the organizations continue their fight.
The order applies to availability in Germany.