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TITLE II
COLLECTING SOCIETIES
Article 124 – The collection and sharing out of copyright fees and the defence of the
material interests of authors shall be entrusted to a public body comprising authors
and holders of related rights, which shall be created by decree and shall be the only
one allowed to operate on the territory of the Republic of Madagascar. This body
shall substitute as of right for any professional body of authors and holders of related
rights in the execution of outstanding contracts with users or users’ associations on
the territory of the Republic of Madagascar.
Article 125 – This body shall have its own legal personality, its own board of
management and its own independent budget. The State shall have merely a
supervisory role in relation to it, in other words, its control shall be strictly legal and
not expedient.
Article 126 – The above-mentioned body shall exclusively administer the proprietary
rights of authors and of the holders of related rights.
Article 127 – The rules relating to the establishment and operation of the collective
administration organization shall be the subject of an implementation decree drawn
up by the Minister for Culture and Communication.
Article 128 – Contracts entered into by the body representing authors or the holders
of related rights, provided for in Article 124, to enforce those rights, with the users of
all or part of their repertoire, are civil deeds.
Article 129 – The collecting society must keep the full repertoire of the Madagascan
and foreign authors and composers it represents available to any users. It must make
available to authors and holders of related rights an annual report on its activities and
information on the contracts it has entered into on their behalf.
TITLE III
PROCEDURES AND SANCTIONS
CHAPTER ONE
General Provisions
Article 130 – Any challenges to the application of the provisions of this Law falling
under the jurisdiction of the judiciary shall be brought before the appropriate court,
without prejudice to the right of the injured party to bring proceedings before the
criminal court pursuant to the ordinary rules of law.
Article 131 – The public body responsible for safeguarding the copyright and related
rights referred to in Article 124 shall be empowered to institute legal proceedings to
defend the rights for which it is responsible.
Article 132 – In addition to statements by police detectives or officials of the judicial
police, proof of the factual nature of any infringement of the provisions of Books I, II
or III of this Law may result from the reports of sworn agents from the body

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