EU Copyright Request

The Government is calling for UK stakeholders’ from the music, publishing and entertainment industry, for their views on draft legislation to modernise the European copyright framework “to ensure that it delivers the best outcomes for all those affected by the measures”.

The draft proposals were unveiled on September 14 at the European Commission’s annual State of the Union address, delivered by EC President Jean-Claude Juncker in Strasbourg.

Under the draft legislation video sharing platforms will be obliged to improve their automatic “content recognition technologies” (like YouTube’s Content ID) that will both impact on “notice-and-take-down” procedures and lead to more transparent reporting structures, enabling rights holders to better identify when their works are played and how often.

A statement on the IPO website stated: “We would welcome your views on the costs and benefits of these proposals and suggestions for how the language of the proposed legislation can be improved”.

At the unveiling Junker commented: “I want journalists, publishers and authors to be paid fairly for their work, whether it is made in studios or living rooms, whether it is disseminated offline or online, whether it is published via a copying machine or commercially hyperlinked on the web”.

However Pierre Mossiat, President of the Independent Music Publishers Forum (IMPF), was among the critics who commented that reforms didn’t go far enough in addressing the “value gap” between online music consumption and levels of remuneration paid to artists and rights holders, stating: “Without clear regulatory guidance, the interests of big business will continue to jeopardise the livelihoods of songwriters all around Europe”.

Stakeholders and interested parties should send their responses (supported by “open and transparent” evidence) by December 6th to copyright.policy@ipo.gov.uk.