Open Letter of Georgian Artists to International Associations

We, the artists from Georgia, write to you with grave concern regarding the systemic injustices and mismanagement within the Georgian ­Copyright Association (GCA) under the leadership of Giga Kobaladze.

For years, we have tirelessly fought against the rampant embezzlement and misappropriation of authors' royalties within the GCA, spearheaded by Giga Kobaladze. The recent audit report exposed the extent of this malfeasance, confirming our worst suspicions and prompting us to vehemently oppose these injustices.(Link)

In exchange for answers to many questions, we accepted the expulsion of unsatisfied members from the association by Giga Kobaladze. As for the remaining members, we were not able to convene a meeting and approve the new management, because Giga Kobaladze's signature was required for this. Therefore, for so many years, it was not possible to elect him from the presidency. Therefore, we were forced to create a new collective management organization and unite the members of GCA, GNRA and GERA on one platform, following the requirements of the law. ( Link)

At the same time, we contacted the prosecutor's office to urge them to investigate the aforementioned issue thoroughly. Our aim is to ensure that Giga Kobaladze's exploitation of authors' rights is brought to a legal conclusion once and for all, and to deter any future misconduct. On June 29, 2023, an investigation was initiated under the third part of Article 182 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, subsection "b", pertaining to the removal of complete information about the activities of the association. We await the legal response with anticipation.(Link)

To conceal his unjust actions, Giga Kobaladze is spreading disinformation and making disparaging remarks against our newly established association (IPOA), composed of members from GCA, GNRA, and GERA. It is deeply troubling for us to be accused of connections with Russia, especially considering that 20% of our country is currently under Russian occupation. Kobaladze's attempt to deflect attention from his own wrongdoings by leveling such baseless accusations is both absurd and outdated. We refuse to tolerate this slander any longer and have repeatedly issued statements urging Kobaladze to cease circulating false information. (Link)

We wish to emphasize that we, as members of GCA, have endured prolonged insult and disrespect. Despite our membership, we have not received our rightful royalties for several months, leading us to believe that the association was controlled by Giga Kobaladze rather than serving as a legitimate copyright protection entity. The audit report has proved our concerns, revealing that a significant portion of royalties—instead of the declared 20%—was allocated to administrative expenses, benefiting Giga Kobaladze personally. This misallocation amounted to 40% to 47% of the total royalties, which were utilized for purposes such as funding his studies and acquiring real or movable property. Furthermore, it was discovered that Kobaladze borrowed 20-27% of the association's funds annually without our consent, a practice concealed until the audit report's revelation. These findings underscore the gross mismanagement and exploitation of our royalties by Kobaladze. (Audit report)

Instead of welcoming the healthy changes taking place in the field of copyright in Georgia, supporting the law adopted with the involvement of CLDP and USAID, taking into account the choice of us, the members of all three associations (GCA; GNRA; GERA), and the results of the fair contest conducted by Sakpatenti - you are trying to justify our Copyright violator Giga Kobaladze. We think that the fact that Giga Kobaladze was embezzling royalties from not only Georgian but also international artists should be important for you. Therefore, we consider his justification to be completely unacceptable.

It is regrettable that for the second time, we are receiving an inaccurate assessment of the ongoing developments in the field of copyright in Georgia from your organization. In 2023, you requested the Culture Committee to revoke the amendments to the "Law on Copyright and Related Rights", despite Georgian artists having awaited these changes for a few decades.

We believe this situation stems from an over-reliance on one-sided information provided solely by Giga Kobaladze. The dissemination of such erroneous information undermines the rights of authors and impedes the fair progression of processes, potentially causing significant financial harm to Georgian artists. Giga Kobaladze exploits these circumstances to evade responsibility for his actions.

We would like to note that are the members of GCA who have been victimized by Giga Kobaladze's actions, enduring years of copyright violations. It is crucial to clarify that we represented GCA, not Giga Kobaladze. The focus should be on protecting our intellectual property, not enabling an individual who has consistently misappropriated our royalties over the years.

As more than 2,000 Georgian artists, we are ready, if necessary, to answer all your questions and to cooperate with you in order to clearly see the real picture that is currently in the field of copyright in Georgia.

We would like to reiterate that the artists from GCA, GNRA, and GERA are now unified under a new platform, the IPOA association. On your part, discrediting the only accredited organization in Georgia, according to the law, creates a risk that, on the one hand, it will hinder the collection of our royalties, both in Georgia and abroad, and on the other hand, it will endanger the protection of the rights of foreign authors and performers in Georgia, which will lead to great material losses.

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