Brussels, 11/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU is working flat out to obtain a general approach on the portability of online content. It will also be submitting a compromise proposal - about which EUROPE has been informed - at the meeting of permanent representatives on Friday 13 May.
The draft regulation (https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2015/FR/1-2015-627-FR-F1-1.PDF ) was presented on 9 December 2015. It seeks to allow Europeans to travel with the digital content that they have purchased or subscribed to in their country of origin (which is called 'legal fiction'). Although discussions have barely begun at the European Parliament, the Council is really working hard. The discussions began on 21 January at the intellectual property working group. Overall, discussions were mainly based around three main questions (the triangle) - the definition of the “member state of residence”, the notion of “temporary stay” and the verification mechanism. The latter two sections are the two most problematic areas.
With regard to the notion of “temporary stay”, three groups of countries are taking shape - the Nordic countries, which want maximum market flexibility; Belgium and Germany, which want a balance between legal security and market flexibility by way of simple references to the character of “temporary stay”; and the southern countries (France, Spain and Italy), which are calling for a limited time period (a certain number of days a year).
The other question still pending involves the responsibility incumbent on operators to verify whether an abuse is being committed or whether circumvention is taking place (which will allow, for example, a viewer to pay their subscription in the cheapest country). The project submitted by the Dutch Presidency currently intends to define the place of residency according to at least one of the eight identified criteria (for example, the invoice address, postal address, bank details, or IP addresses). The text also authorises a similar provision that would have been agreed to beforehand by the operators and rights holders. This flexibility is not to the liking of all member states.
The Dutch Presidency is expected to present another compromise to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on 13 May, in view of reaching a general approach during the Competitiveness Council on 26 May. It would appear that the text is expected to include a 12-month transition period (instead of six months as proposed by the Commission) and introduce a revision clause 3 years after the text's entry into force.
Things are expected to take much more time at the European Parliament. The rapporteur for the legal affairs committee (the committee with overall responsibility for this issue), Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE, France), is expected to finalise his report in July, while the rapporteur for the internal market committee (in charge of submitting an opinion), Marco Zullo (EFDD, Italy), is expected to finalise his in June. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)