Collective management of copyright in Estonia

Organisations that manage copyright and related rights for many rightholders are regulated by Chapter IX of the Estonian Copyright Act¹⁰. A collective management organisation that grants licences for online use of musical works across more than one EU/EEA country must file a notice of economic activities before it starts⁷. The same Act applies the notice provision to independent management entities¹⁵, and the Estonian Patent Office supervises compliance¹⁴.

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

Collective management means exercising copyright or related rights collectively for rightholders¹³.

The Copyright Act (Autoriõiguse seadus, "AutÕS") recognises two kinds of organisation:

A collective management organisation (CMO) is a non-profit association that collectively exercises copyright or related rights; this must be its sole or main purpose, and it must be controlled by the rightholders¹. An organisation founded in any legal form in another EU or European Economic Area (EEA) state that has these features is also treated as a CMO².
An independent management entity (IME) exercises the rights of more than one rightholder for their collective benefit as its sole or main purpose, but is not controlled, directly or indirectly, by the rightholders and is organised on a profit-making basis³.

Chapter IX also applies to entities controlled by a CMO when the substance of their activity is the collective exercise of rights⁴.

The notice duty concerns one specific activity: European multi-territorial licensing of online rights in musical works. Online rights in musical works are the rights in AutÕS § 13 points 1, 9 and 9¹ that are needed to provide an online music service⁵; a European multi-territorial licence permits online use of musical works in more than one EU/EEA state⁶.

Not covered by the notice duty:

multi-territorial licences of the online rights that a broadcaster needs to make its own radio or television programmes available or to retransmit them by cable — the Act's subchapter on multi-territorial licensing does not apply to them⁸.

The legal act and the authority

Act: Copyright Act (Autoriõiguse seadus), Chapter IX "Collective exercise of rights", in the redaction in force from 1 October 2025¹⁰. The chapter refers to Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use¹¹.
Procedure: the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, "MSÜS") governs notices of economic activities¹².
Register: the notice is entered in the Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, "MTR"), whose controller is the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA)¹³.
Supervisory authority: the Patent Office (Patendiamet) exercises state supervision over Subchapters 1 and 2 of Chapter IX¹⁴.

Who must file

A CMO that enters into European multi-territorial licence agreements for online rights in musical works must submit a notice of economic activities before it starts that activity⁷.
Independent management entities: AutÕS § 78 (2) applies § 77 (the notice duty) to the activities of IMEs¹⁵. Whether a particular IME's activity falls under it is specified for the client's case.

Exemptions named in the law:

A service provider established in another EU/EEA state that wants to provide services in Estonia only temporarily, within the meaning of Article 57 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, has no notice duty (subject to the exception for services listed in Article 17 of the Services Directive)¹⁶.
A company that is still being formed must file once it acquires legal capacity¹⁷.

Requirements for the applicant

Whether a minimum capital or own-funds requirement applies is specified for the client's case.

Legal form and control. An Estonian CMO is a non-profit association controlled by the rightholders¹; an IME is a profit-making entity not controlled by the rightholders³.

Capacity for multi-territorial licensing. A CMO may grant European multi-territorial licences for online rights in musical works only if, at least, it can¹⁸:

identify accurately the musical works that it represents;
meet the further condition in AutÕS § 79¹⁹ (2) point 2;
use unique identifiers;
resolve in a timely and effective way inconsistencies in data.

It must also be able to process electronically, efficiently and transparently, the data needed to administer these agreements¹⁹.

Governance of a CMO. The general meeting of members is convened at least once a year²⁰; members' categories must be represented fairly and in a balanced way in the body with the supervisory function²¹; each board member reports annually to the general meeting on interests, remuneration and conflicts²²; the board draws up an annual transparency report no later than eight months after the end of the financial year²³.

Information duties that also bind IMEs. An IME must give each rightholder to whom it made payments in the period, at least once a year, the information listed in § 79¹² (amounts allocated and paid, deductions, management fees)²⁴, answer duly justified requests for information about the works it manages²⁵, and publish on its website its statutes, standard licences and tariffs, general policies on distribution and management fees and on other deductions²⁶.

Anti-money laundering. Whether AML/CFT rules apply is specified for the client's case.

Documents filed with the notice

The notice contains:

General data under MSÜS § 15 (1): the company's name and registry code, contact details, the name of the activity under the Act and its classification name and code, the start date, the end date where relevant, and the name and contact details of the person signing²⁷.
Additional data required by the Copyright Act: the categories of rightholders whose rights are exercised collectively, and the rights or categories of rights exercised²⁸.

The notice can be submitted only through the Estonian state portal (eesti.ee) or a notary²⁹. Later changes in the general data must be reported to the registrar without delay and no later than within five working days³⁰.

State fee and processing time

State fee: the notice is filed only through the state portal or a notary²⁹; whether a state fee applies is specified for the client's situation.
Processing: when a notice is filed through the state portal, the company enters the data in the register itself (or a notary does so)³²; where the registrar enters notice data, it must do so no later than the working day after the notice is filed³³. This time limit is the law's, not a promise.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

This activity has no dedicated service page on micaconsult.com. LexorCorp Global OÜ handles it under the general row Activity licence application documentation, which costs from €3,500 (one-time, our fee for the standard scope; LexorCorp Global OÜ is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added).

According to the service description, the row includes:

the requirements of the act for the activity, taken from its official text;
the application (here, the notice) and the documents it needs;
the submission through the Register of Economic Activities and written follow-up of the authority's questions.

Conditions stated on the site: this is application preparation, not legal advice; the authority decides and a result cannot be promised; any state fee is separate and paid by the company; the starting price is for one licence of ordinary scope, and more work is agreed in writing before it starts. The service does not include legal advice, audit or tax advice. LexorCorp Global OÜ does not act as a collective management organisation and does not run the client's licensing or distribution.

Order: order form

Sources

Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 76 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 76 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 76 (4) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 78 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 76 (12); § 13 (1) p 1, 9, 9¹ — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 76 (13) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 77 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^25 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) IX peatükk; header — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^28 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 14 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 8 (1), (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^26 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 78 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 14 (3) p 2 — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 14 (4) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^19 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^19 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^4 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^5 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^6 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^16 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^12 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^14 (1) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 79^15 p 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 15 (1) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 77 (2) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Autoriõiguse seadus (AutÕS) § 77 (3) — text in force from 01.10.2025 (RT I, 12.07.2025, 9)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 30 (5) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 58 (2) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)
Majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus (MSÜS) § 59 (2) — text in force from 01.09.2025 (RT I, 02.01.2025, 26)

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Collective management of copyright in Estonia: the notice for multi-territorial online music licensing