Brussels, 03/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 3 February in Brussels, during a seminar on copyright in the digital economy and society, Professor Pierre Sirinelli presented the report he had drafted on the revision of the 2001 directive (“revision of the 2001/29/EC directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and associated rights in the information society”). This report was devised at the request of the French Minister for Culture and Communication.
The French minister, Fleur Pellerin, believes that the report “creates prospects for improved remuneration and protection of copyright and associated rights in the digital area”. It draws up a balance sheet of the hearings and responses received by the mission and illustrates the difficulties that have occurred since the adoption of the 2001 directive. It also provides possible avenues of development and formulates proposals for creating a better balance between copyright owners and users. The report concludes that “France's position should be simple to establish”: not to accept the principle of reopening this directive, as long as there has not been evidence of the inefficacy of existing solutions.
The European Commission intends to present its copyright revision in September and the French minister, Fleur Pellerin, is concerned by the position advocated on this issue by its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, who is seeking to “break down national barriers”. She believes that the European debate is “biased” and has been badly framed. She also regrets that the report on the subject conferred to the European Parliament had gone to Julia Reda, from the Pirate Party, whose positions on Internet freedoms are unclear. (IL)