EU creators need single copyright regime, says EU Commissioner

Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the Commission, said Europe's audiovisual sector was "handicapped" by different approaches to copyright issues in EU member countries.

"It harms consumer interests and reduces choice," Kroes said in a speech at the World Copyright Summit.

"It prevents our audiovisual industry from realising economies of scale and emerging as winners in a strongly competitive global Internet environment. And it does not help in the fight against piracy either," Kroes said in her speech.

The European Commission will shortly announce draft proposals for the distribution of audiovisual works in a single digital market, Kroes said in her speech.

Last month the Commission said it would announce proposals for a new online copyright licensing system.

"The creation of a European framework for online copyright licensing would greatly stimulate the legal offer of protected cultural goods and services across the EU," the Commission said in a strategy outlining its plans to change intellectual property (IP) laws.

"The compilation and availability of accurate information on music authors´ rights ownership information in one authoritative database is key to facilitating efficient cross border licensing and distribution of royalties to the relevant right holders in a consistent manner across Europe and will also facilitate licensing of European repertoire abroad and corresponding distribution of royalties back to their European authors," the strategy said.

Kroes said that the Commission is creating a framework so that audiovisual material can be digitally downloaded by potential users legally. The Commission will also propose new laws that will simplify how artists manage their rights across Europe, Kroes said.

"We will also launch a debate on the opportunities and challenges of online distribution of audiovisual works," Kroes said in her speech. "And we will make sure that the copyright enforcement regime is adapted to the digital era," she said.

"Our real challenge is dealing with the present while leaving the door open to legal innovative distribution channels and attractive consumer experiences. And new technology can help here – if we put it at the service of the artists," Kroes said.

Existing European laws consider copyright infringement and enforcement differently. In the UK the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act allows 'fair dealing' of copyright works in non-commercial research, in reviews and criticisms and as part of news reports without being deemed to infringe the rights of copyright owners.

The Act also permits copyright works to be used incidentally as part of sound recordings, films and artistic works.

Dutch copyright laws are more liberal and permit a more extensive use of copyright works. French copyright laws give authors the sole right to decide when to make their work available for public use.

For a centralised European copyright licensing system to work existing copyright laws have to be standardised, according to one legal expert.

"Without significant harmonisation of laws in advance it is unclear how any exchange would work," said Iain Connor, an IP law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind OUT-LAW.

Connor said that a single portal for obtaining the rights to use copyright works is a good idea in theory, but would take a long time to establish.

"The idea of having a central repository is good because it would be easier for people to conduct business," Connor said. "But the reality is it would take a long time to get up to speed and the practical difficulties and cost of such a database would be huge."

An organisation would need to manage the system in a similar way to how Google operates its Books Library Project, Connor said. Google works with publishers to digitally archive literature and allow users to search for snippets of content to see if the publication has the information they are looking for. A European copyright licence system would be on a bigger scale than Google's books programme, be hugely costly and would be very complex, Connor said.

"Say a work is listed in this exchange, does it mean therefore that you have to licence it? Would it lead to compulsory licensing? Could artists say no?" Connor said. "If a copyright work is not in the exchange does it mean people can use the work for free and does it mean they would have a good defence to any lawsuit artists may take out about its use?"

"There are a host of issues around the effect of listing a work in such a copyright exchange and there are a host of issues to do with works not included, either voluntarily or through ignorance, in the exchange and what happens in either of these circumstances," Connor said.

"The Commission would have to put out detailed proposals of the costs and benefits of joining a copyright licence exchange and outline circumstances where copyright owners would be free to licence their own works without interference from Europe forcing them to include their works in such a copyright exchange," Connor said.

In the UK a recent Government-commissioned report recommended that the UK establish a "digital rights exchange" where copyright owners could license their works online.