Update: The draft report has now been published. This page is out of date!
The European Parliament’s first contribution to the upcoming copyright reform is going to be a report on the implementation of the previous directive on this matter from 2001 (the so-called “Infosoc Directive”).
The Parliament has appointed me rapporteur of the report. This means that over the course of the following months I am going to write it, negotiate with my peers from the other groups (called “shadow rapporteurs”) and lead it to a vote in the Legal Affairs committee and finally the entire Parliament.
I presented my plans at the the last Legal Affairs Committee meeting and discussed it with Members of Parliament from other groups:
What are the next steps?
| January 20, 2015 | Presentation of my draft report before the Legal Affairs Committee |
| February 23/24, 2015 | Debate of the draft report in the Legal Affairs Committee (will be streamed) |
| March 3, 2015 | Deadline for amendments |
| March 23/24, 2015 | Discussion of these amendments in the Legal Affairs Committee |
| April 16, 2015 | Vote in the Legal Affairs Committee |
| May 20, 2015 | Vote in plenary |
Who are the shadow rapporteurs?
Most groups have already appointed their shadow rapporteurs:
EPP Therese Comodini Cachia (Malta)
S&D Mary Honeyball (UK)
ALDE Jean-Marie Cavada (France)
ECR Angel Dzhambazki (Bulgaria)
EFDD Laura Ferrara (Italy)
What is being evaluated?
The stated aim of the 2001 InfoSoc Directive was the harmonisation of copyright legislation within the EU under the changed conditions of the information society. In my report on its implementation, I will therefore address the question of whether this directive really did manage to lower barriers to cross-border exchange of knowledge and culture, and whether it succeeded in creating comparable copyright legislation across all EU member states.
Moreover, the InfoSoc Directive was supposed to adapt copyright to the new realities of digitisation. Since its adoption in 2001, technology has continued to advance. My report is therefore also going to examine whether a directive from a time before Facebook and YouTube is still sufficient in providing legal certainty to all people who create and exchange cultural works over the internet. Reading the Infosoc Directive you encounter some rather anachronistic paragraphs referring to CD-ROMs or that the right to read digitised books is only granted at dedicated reading terminals in libraries. In this regard, there is a lot of catching up to do.
What will happen next?
The European Commission has already announced a fundamental reform of European copyright legislation for the coming year. Considering the number of replies the Commission’s consultation on the topic received last year, it is obvious that it is high time to act.
With my report, I want to contribute to a copyright reform that will improve access to knowledge and culture for all and overcome the national borders in the EU. “This video is not available in your country” needs to become a thing of the past! Keeping in mind how long it takes until the EU revisits legislation, we need to create a European copyright that is ready for unforeseeable future technological developments and flexible enough to adapt to new forms of engaging with cultural works. A critical review of the InfoSoc Directive is the first step towards that goal.
Who is trying to influence the report?
I am currently flooded with more meeting requests from lobbyists wanting to talk about my report than I can possibly accept. In order to get an overview that takes into consideration all of the affected interest groups, I will make sure that civil society, internet users, public institutions (such as libraries and archives), collecting societies, service providers, creators and scientists are given an equal opportunity to present their case. I am going to publish a list of incoming meeting requests and which ones I attended soon.
Alternatively to meeting in person, you can also send me your experiences and any issues you encountered with the implementation of European copyright legislation by email to julia.reda@europarl.europa.eu
To the extent possible under law, the creator has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.
Thanks for taking up the copyright issue. I am a programmer. If you see about programming, many programmers give their code away for free. A code thats given away for free is in fact powering this website. Even if there is no money involved people would still write book, paint, do dramas, share their creativity. Its just that billion dollar tycoons will fail to rule these people.
When money is not involved, people will do with passion rather than compulsion to do it. People will put up their work, people who feel to pay them will do it. It will create a new dynamics, unseen and unexperienced by capitalists so far.
<3
Hello, very interesting topic. I am an IP lawyer in Bulgaria and I hope that European parliamentarians will make the right decisions concerning the subject of intellectual property in the digital area. That is one specific part of IP law, which is familar too few specilists in the intellectual property rights. I mean that this topic is specific in itself, even for lawyers who deal with intellectual property, because it covers technical and legal features that should be known in detail. I will follow the development of the case with big personal interest.
Thanks for your interest! Check back tomorrow for Julia’s evaluation report.
Dear Julia,
thank you for your Initiative but as a professional Photographer and Filmmaker it will be very difficult for me to preserve Films and Photos for the coming Generations. If I have to deal with more Paperwork if the “Freedom of Panorama” is no longer possible, how could I do my work and publish it without getting in trouble ? Buildings, Statues and Monuments, all made for the People around the World to be seen and already paid with TAXES by the People ! If your Report goes through in it’s current Form, it would mean in other Words that I have to contact different Cities, Countries and Lawyers to get the permissions for Objects that can be seen and visited from everywhere ?
This is simply impossible and , pardon me, insane and crazy. Photographers and Filmmakers are doing their hard work so other People can benefit and enjoy the Work in Exhibitions, Film Theaters or on Television. When did you watch your last Documentation about a City and their People ? Do you have any Idea how much work is involved before a Film is ready to be screened in a Movie Theater or on Television ?
Just to give you a rough Idea what is involved:
Preparation, Paperwork, Clearance and Planning – at least 1 Year
Filming and traveling – up to 3 Years (Example: Nature Documentary)
Editing, Transfer and Color Correction – up to 2 Years
Sound Editing, Effects and Narration – up to 1 Year
Final Film Master Rendering and preparation – up to 1 Year
I am sure you can count: Total would be here up to 8 Years of Work just for 1 Film before the Audience can see it ! So, now put yourself in the Shoes of People like me and imagine you have to at least double the Time to get all Clearances for your Movie and Photos including the extra Fees involved and the extra Paperwork, which is immense already nowadays.
I am glad you’re trying to make things better and I respect that but the current Report of yours would only make things worse in Europe and not better for the People, sorry to say that. No matter if a Person is doing Films or takes Photos as a professional or Amateur, there is something important that is missing: FREEDOM !
Every moment is unique, so are Films and Photos. You can try that yourself if you have a Camera. Select a Object, place the Camera to this Object and just take 1 Picture at the same Time of the same Object with the same Position and Camera Settings everyday. Result ? You will find no Photo that you took that looks like another, even if it’s the same Object, same Position, same Camera Settings and Time, all different.
So please, send all these Lobbyist to Hell where they belong and do the right thing: KEEP FILM AND PHOTO FREE IN EUROPE FOR EVERYONE ! And most of all, KEEP THE “FREEDOM OF PANORAMA” FREE IN EUROPE ! This saves the precious Moments to the next Generation and the Future to be enjoyed by the Viewers. I count on you and really hope that you do the right thing, okay ?
Many Greetings
Michel
Hello Michel — Julia agrees with you. The version of the report that she wrote called for freedom of panorama to be expanded to all of Europe: https://juliareda.eu/copyright-evaluation-report-explained/#panorama
The current wording that turned this into its opposite and into what you are criticising was proposed by MEP Jean-Marie Cavada and approved by a majority in the Legal Affairs Committee — Julia of course objected: https://juliareda.eu/copyright-evaluation-report/full/#46
But here’s the good news: We are currently confident that this bad point calling for a restriction of freedom of panorama will be struck from the report on Thursday.
Thanks for getting involved!