OSA- Ochranný svaz autorský pro práva k dílům hudebním, z. s., is a professional association of composers, lyricists and musical publishers that follows up the activities of Ochranné sdružení spisovatelů, skladatelů a nakladatelů hudebních děl, zapsané společenstvo s ručením omezeným, which was established in 1919 by Karel Hašler, Rudolf Piskáček, Arnošt Hermann, Josef Šváb, František Šmíd, Eduard Joudal, Emil Štolc, Otakar Hanuš, and Karel Barvicius. One of the first directors was a son of the composer Antonín Dvořák.
OSA is also one of the founding members of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers CISAC (in 1926) and Bureau International des sociétés gérant les droits des enregistrements et de reproduction mécanique BIEM (in 1929).
The mission of OSA is the management of economic copyrights of composers, lyricists, the heirs of copyrights and publishers by law or based on an agreement, however, not interprets (singers) of these compositions. For the purpose of as much wide as possible territorial and repertoire coverage, Ochranný svaz autorský concluded contracts with sister societies worldwide, by which it offers a unique opportunity to authors to be paid automatically for music played in most of the territories of the world. At present, OSA manages rights for the territory of the Czech Republic based on a contracting relationship directly with the rights holder or with its foreign sister society and offers repertoire of three and half million rights holders from various parts of the world, including 9,429 domestic rights holders as of 31 December 2017. The rights
of foreign rights holders are managed by OSA by means of reciprocal agreements concluded with 81 authors’ societies worldwide.
Owing to wide international background and almost one hundred years long tradition in enforcing copyrights inland as well as abroad, we try to make such conditions for authors so that they have peace and time for their own production. At the same time, we offer simple and easy access to music of authors from all over the world and across all music styles for the users of musical works. Consequently, OSA creates by its activities an imaginary bridge between authors and the users of their production.
Subject of activity
The collective management of ownership copyrights to musical pieces with or without lyrics and to other copyrighted works within the meaning of the Copyright Act and disclosure of these works to the public and related activities on the basis of an authorization granted by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic or on the basis of a commission granted to OSA by other collective management organization, all of these are the main subjects of business of OSA. OSA further performs agency activities on the basis of an issued trade licence. Within the agency, it also grants licences on the basis of an individual commission from individual rights holders.