http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?ur...
I. GEMA's activities 1. Object and membership (1) The Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (hereinafter referred to as "GEMA"), which has its main establishment in Berlin, is an economic association constituted under German law for the purpose of protecting authors and administering their rights. GEMA administers as trustee with a view to exploitation the copyrights in musical and cinematographic works assigned to it by its members or third parties (hereinafter referred to as "beneficiaries"). The rights are assigned by means of a special contract (the contract of assignment) which details their scope and the nature of the administration. The assignment is limited to between three and six years and to certain types of exploitation such as the right to reproduce a particular work, to put it into circulation and to communicate it to the public.