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Spanish collecting society president resigns
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 13 July 2011
The President of Spain’s main collecting society, the Society Of Authors & Editors, or SGAE, has resigned following that previously reported raid of the organisation’s offices amid allegations of misappropriation of funds. As previously reported, most of the allegations of dodgy dealings seem to relate to a subsidiary of the society that specialises in digital rights.
According to Spanish newspaper El Pais, Eduardo ‘Teddy’ Bautista announced his resignation alongside his board at a press conference yesterday afternoon. The board said it had accepted Bautista’s resignation, and that he would be relieved of all his duties with immediate effect, and that they had no further comment at this time.
The paper adds that the Spanish authorities’ ongoing investigations are uncovering “a complicated web of financial wrongdoings that include embezzlement”. Although it represents creators from various art forms, the majority of SGAE’s operations are related to music. Some fear that the growing scandal around the powerful rights body will hinder attempts by the content industries to get stronger laws against online piracy through the Spanish parliament.