Out-Law News 2 min. read

European Commission seeks views on pan-EU licensing system


The European Commission is seeking industry's approval for its plans for a pan-EU copyright licensing scheme.

The Commission has launched a consultation that asks industry representatives whether they think there are any obstacles to establishing a new licensing system for copyrighted audiovisual works.

In May the Commission announced that it would develop plans for a copyright licensing system later this year. The system would involve copyright holders making their copyrighted works available for cross-border licensing in return for payment through one centralised database, the Commission said at the time.

Rights holders in the broadcast and film industries are now being asked what barriers there are to forming a licensing system, what conditions any new system should include and what the priorities of any scheme should be, the European Commission's consultation said.

The Commission said it was also seeking views on how to achieve a legal basis for any new licensing system. Rights holders are asked whether they would support moves to harmonise EU copyright laws and whether they would approve a system whereby copyright protection could be obtained through a single license applicable across the EU.

The consultation also asks if the Commission should propose a system for legally establishing the origin of copyrighted works made available online and how it should do that.

The Commission said that it was considering ways to harmonise the way authorship of copyrighted works is established by EU countries and how copyright rights are transferred by member states. In its consultation it asks respondents whether harmonisation is required in order to achieve a cross-border licensing system.

Respondents are also asked to consider whether new laws are needed to provide the authors of copyrighted works, and those who perform works, with an "unwaivable right" to be compensated when their works are used online, the Commission's consultation said. This compensation would be paid to collecting societies.

This "unwaivable right" already exists when audiovisual material is rented under the provisions of the EU's Rental and Lending Directive.

Respondents should consider whether creating a new layer of compensation rights would increase uncertainty about where and from whom copyright licenses need to be cleared, the Commission said in its consultation.

"This option could therefore be seen as detrimental to the development of online distribution platforms for audiovisual works by increasing transaction costs and legal and economic uncertainty," the Commission said in its consultation.

"It is important to assess whether the creation of new remuneration rights to be collectively managed is the only means to ensure adequate remuneration, or whether alternative mechanisms could be established to ensure that authors' and performers' remuneration adequately reflects the success of a work," the consultation (19-page / 107KB PDF) said.

Rights holders are also being asked whether changes should be made to the Copyright Directive to provide greater legal certainty to libraries, the consultation said. The Directive gives member states the optional right to create laws allowing libraries and researchers using library facilities to use copyrighted works for educational purposes.

Film libraries have a duty to preserve material that is in the public interest to keep but libraries complain that the existing EU laws on copyright create uncertainty about their ability to reformat work for online access, the Commission's consultation said.

The Commission said responses to its consultation would help shape changes in copyright law already under its review.

"It is important for me to hear the views of all stakeholders concerned – creators, performers, producers, distributors and consumers," EU Commissioner Michel Barnier said in a statement.

"The results of this consultation will provide a significant contribution to the initiatives I am preparing, including a legislative proposal on collective copyright licensing, an examination of the framework set by the 2001 Information Society Directive, and a review of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive," the statement said.

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