Brussels, 13/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - The SACD company is responsible for managing specialist copyright for creative writers in the theatre, dance, cinema, television and radio (fiction). On Thursday 9 July it officially acknowledged the European Parliament's adoption of the report by Julia Reda (Greens/, Germany) on the revision of copyright, which it believes is a balanced report and provides general protection in the EU.
The SACD was delighted that the EP had adopted the report in a more watered-down version than the version initially proposed by the rapporteur (see EUROPE 11355) and stated “with this vote, the European Parliament has repudiated all those that, following the example of Julia Reda, sought to organise the dismantlement of copyright in Europe”. The SACD particularly appreciates the fact that the provisions hostile to copyright originally introduced by Julia Reda have been scrapped by a very large majority of MEPs. It is particularly glad that: 1) the generalisation of exceptions to copyright without remuneration to the authors has been withdrawn; 2) the introduction of “fair use” in Europe, similarly to that in force in the US, which considerably limits copyright, has been scrapped; 3) that the quotation exception that was to be extended to the audiovisual field has also been withdrawn.
The copyright management company also believes that the European Parliament demonstrated its determination to support cultural diversity by way of maintaining territorialised financing mechanisms (particularly for the audiovisual and cinema domains), respect for copyright and recognition of the necessity of fair and appropriate remuneration for authors. The SACD concludes that without its reform proposal, the European Commission will have to take into account the orientations provided by the European Parliament.
On the other hand, the Société des Auteurs Audiovisuels (SAA) said that it was “disappointed” with the resolution, particularly, “the significant disparity between rhetoric in support of authors and the absence of concrete measures to guarantee them fair remuneration for using their creative work online”. Audiovisual authors believe that the resolution is simply a compromise that seeks to neutralise the most negative elements in the draft report, which is totally focused on users. Cécile Despringre, the director of the SAA, explained, “it is incomprehensible that no concrete measure to correct current shortcomings have been proposed”. She called on the Commission not to make the same mistakes and to translate the desire it has expressed to defend European screenwriters and directors by including a right to remuneration for using their creative work online in its future proposals contained within its next legislative initiative. (Isabelle Lamberty)