Modernisation of copyright rules

Key points:

The EESC:

• believes that copyright remains a fundamentally important way to protect and fairly pay authors and those involved in disseminating works and performances via interconnected digital networks;

• calls for the Marrakesh Treaty to be swiftly ratified;

• is of the view that a united European position on private copying is possible and desirable;

• calls for a new legal context to promote the creation of copyright-protected work and, simultaneously, to enhance the contribution of new types of licence and new business models to building the European single market;

• considers a regulation to be the best instrument for establishing the digital single market;

• encourages the Commission to conduct studies and in-depth research on business models linked to free licences, on their current and potential economic importance, on the revenue and jobs they could create in various fields, and on any legal proposals that would enhance their profile and use;

• believes that Europe's cultural diversity is at the heart of European identity and should be fostered and promoted among the Member States.

Other relevant EESC opinions:

• Action Plan - intellectual property rights (INT /757)
• Industrial products (INT /731)
• Collective management of copyright (INT /659)
• Towards a digital single market (INT /595)
• A single market for intellectual property rights (INT /591)
• Protection of intellectual property rights/OHIM (INT /585)
• Intellectual Property Rights (INT /506)
• Green paper - Copyright in the Knowledge Economy (INT /454)
• Industrial property rights (INT /453)
• Term of protection of copyright and related rights (INT/449)
• Copyright in the music sector (INT/418)
• Creative and cultural industries – a European asset to be used in global competition (CCMI /137)
• European film in the digital era (TEN /555)

Other related EESC opinions:

• Trade secrets (INT /725)
• The Single Market Act - identifying missing measures (INT/688)
• Shaping the future of internet governance (TEN /549)

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat