Recent Developments Concerning Copyright Law in the EU (Francisco Cabrera, European Audiovisual Observatory)
1. Recent Developments concerning Copyright Law in the EU
EUscreenXL Strategic Workshop on IPR Regulations for Audiovisual Heritage
The Hague, 13 May 2014
Francisco Javier Cabrera Blázquez
Analyst
2. • 1. Who we are
• 2. Licences for Europe
• 3. Public consultation on the review of the EU
copyright rules
• 4. A matter of perspective…?
3. 33
THE EUROPEAN AUDIOVISUAL OBSERVATORY
Who we are
… a pan-European public service body operating within the legal framework of the
Council of Europe (Enlarged Partial Agreement)
… financed by 40 Member States and the European Union, represented by the
European Commission
Mission
… to increase transparency by providing information about the
European audiovisual sector: TV, Cinema, Video, New Media
What we do
… collect and prepare key facts & figures covering our 40 Member States
… follow relevant legal developments on the national as well as pan-European level
4. 44
PRINT PUBLICATIONS
YEARBOOK
Basic data on the film, TV, video and on-
demand audiovisual services in 39
countries
IRIS plus & IRIS Special
Reports on legal topics (broadcasting law,
copyright law, film law…)
1
FOCUS
World film market trends (published by the
Cannes film market)
3
Ad hoc reports
Digitization of cinemas, Public Funding,Export of
European Films, VoD markets,…
4
2
5. PUBLICATIONS IN THE FIELD OF COPYRIGHT
Licensing issues (expected late 2014)
How private is personal data? (IRIS plus 2013-6)
Copyright and the Protection of Personal Data
The Lifespan for Copyright of Audiovisual Works (IRIS plus 2012-2)
Determining the Term of Protection for Films: When Does a Film Fall
into the Public Domain in Europe?
Answers to Internet Piracy (IRIS plus 2012-1)
Fighting Internet Piracy in Russia: The Legal Framework and its
Development
Who Pays for Private Copying? (IRIS plus 2011-4)
Private Copying Levies at the Crossroads
New Services and Protection of Broadcasters in Copyright Law
(IRIS plus 2010-5)
The Legal Protection of Broadcasters
IRIS Special: Creativity Comes at a Price (2009)
Convergence, Copyrights and Transfrontier Television (IRIS plus
2009-08)
SatCab Revisited: The Past, Present and Future of the Satellite and
Cable Directive
An introduction to Music Rights for Film and Television Production
(IRIS plus 2009-05)
Filtering the Internet for Copyrighted Content in Europe (IRIS plus
2009-04)
The Legal Status of the Producer of Audiovisual Works in the
Russian Federation (IRIS plus 2009-02)
User-Generated Content Services and Copyright (IRIS plus 2008-5)
Media Windows in Flux: Challenges for Audiovisual Media
Chronology (IRIS plus 2008-4)
Transformation of Author's Rights and Neighbouring Rights in
Russia (IRIS plus 2008-2)
Audiovisual Archives and the Inability to Clear Rights in Orphan
Works (IRIS plus 2007-4)
Digital Rights Management systems (DRMs): Recent Developments
in Europe (IRIS plus 2007-1)
Digital Rights Management from a Consumer's Perspective (IRIS
plus 2005-08)
The Legal Protection of Broadcast Signals (IRIS plus 2004-10)
European Copyright Law and the Audiovisual Media: Are We
Moving Towards Cross-Sectoral Regulation? (IRIS plus 2003-4)
In Search of Lost Rightsholders: Clearing Video-on-Demand Rights
for European Audiovisual Works (IRIS plus 2002-8)
Movies Online: Balancing Copyrights and Fair Use (IRIS plus
2002-4)
6. Communication on Content in the Digital Single Market (December 2012)
The European Commission set out two parallel tracks of action:
• stakeholder dialogue "Licences for Europe“
– facilitate practical industry-led solutions on issues on which rapid progress was deemed
necessary and possible
• on-going effort to review and modernise EU copyright
– decision in 2014 on legislative reform proposals?
7. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
Launched by the European Commission in February 2013
Four thematic working groups:
• Cross border access and portability of services
• User generated content and microlicensing
• Audiovisual Heritage
• Text and Data Mining
8. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
Ten pledges to bring more content online (13 November 2013)
1. Further development of cross-border portability of subscription services.
2. Improved availability of e-books across borders and across devices.
3. Easier licencing for music.
4. Easier access to print and images.
5. Enabling the identification of your work and rights online.
6. More active reader involvement in the online press.
7. More heritage films online.
8. Freeing up TV footage archives through digitisation.
9. Improving identification and discoverability of audio-visual content online.
10. Easier text and data mining of subscription-based material for non-
commercial researchers.
9. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
Ten pledges to bring more content online (13 November 2013)
1. Further development of cross-border portability of subscription
services.
2. Improved availability of e-books across borders and across devices.
3. Easier licencing for music.
4. Easier access to print and images.
5. Enabling the identification of your work and rights online.
6. More active reader involvement in the online press.
7. More heritage films online.
8. Freeing up TV footage archives through digitisation.
9. Improving identification and discoverability of audio-visual content
online.
10. Easier text and data mining of subscription-based material for non-
commercial researchers.
10. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
1. Cross-border portability of subscription services:
Subscribers to audio-visual services online, e.g. consumers watching movies via
an Internet service provider or web-store, are often denied access to services
legally bought in their own EU country when they cross national borders.
Representatives of the audio-visual sector:
• Affirm their willingness to continue to work towards the further
development of cross-border portability.
11. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
5. Enabling the identification of your work and rights online:
Web self-publishers, such as creators posting their new songs or videos online,
often cannot (easily) obtain identifiers for their works, or licences for re-
using existing content.
The Web Content Declaration (WCD):
• Linked Content Coalition (LCC) - industry alliance aiming to facilitate
licensing through the enhanced exchange of rights information
12. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
7. More heritage films online: an agreement on principles and procedures:
Film heritage institutions struggle to fund digitisation of European heritage
films, and to clear authorisations with rightholders. European cinematographic
heritage that would otherwise be accessible to citizens is left on the shelf.
Film heritage institutions and film producers:
• agreement on how to go about digitising, restoring and making available
European film heritage.
13. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
8. Freeing up TV footage archives through digitisation:
Public service broadcasters have archives comprising millions of hours of TV
footage. Clearing the rights with the myriad of rightholders today makes the
use of such material expensive and time-consuming.
Broadcasters and rightholders:
• agreement to find solutions for the digitisation and making available of
broadcasters’ TV footage archives.
14. "Licences for Europe" stakeholder dialogue
9. Improving identification and discoverability of AV content online:
Some producers have been slow to adopt interoperable identifiers for their
productions. This, and a lack of interoperability between the standards (ISAN
and EIDR), has made rights management difficult.
Declaration:
• broad support for international, standard audio-visual work identifiers from
across a wide spectrum of actors in the European sector.
15. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Launched by the European Commission on 5 December 2013
Based on issues identified in the Communication on Content in the Digital
Single Market, i.e.:
• territoriality in the Internal Market, harmonisation, limitations and
exceptions to copyright in the digital age;
• fragmentation of the EU copyright market;
• improving the effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement while
underpinning its legitimacy in the wider context of copyright reform
16. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Main headings of the questionnaire:
• Rights and functioning of the Single Market
• Limitations and exceptions in the Single Market
• Private copying and reprography
• Fair remuneration of authors and performers
• Respect for rights
• A single EU Copyright Title
17. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Main headings of the questionnaire:
• Rights and functioning of the Single Market
• Limitations and exceptions in the Single Market
• Private copying and reprography
• Fair remuneration of authors and performers
• Respect for rights
• A single EU Copyright Title
18. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Rights and functioning of the Single Market
A. Why is it not possible to access many online content services from
anywhere in Europe?
B. Is there a need for more clarity as regards the scope of what needs to be
authorised (or not) in digital transmissions?
1. The act of “making available”
2. Two rights involved in a single act of exploitation
3. Linking and browsing
4. Download to own digital content
C. Registration of works and other subject matter – is it a good idea?
D. How to improve the use and interoperability of identifiers
E. Term of protection – is it appropriate?
19. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Limitations and exceptions in the Single Market
A. Access to content in libraries and archives
1. Preservation and archiving
2. Off-premises access to library collections
3. e-lending
4. Mass digitisation
B. Teaching
C. Research
D. Disabilities
E. Text and data mining
F. User-generated content
20. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
A single EU Copyright Title
“A unified EU Copyright Title would totally harmonise the area of copyright
law in the EU and replace national laws. There would then be a single EU title
instead of a bundle of national rights.”
21. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Consultation period from 5 December 2013 to 5 March 2014 – (closed)
Responses to the Public Consultation:
22. Public consultation on the review of EU copyright rules
Consultation period from 5 December 2013 to 5 March 2014 – (closed)
Responses to the Public Consultation:
MORE THAN 11,000
SUBMISSIONS!!!