On Wednesday 14 September, the European Commission presented its proposals to modernise rules on copyright. One of its objectives is to facilitate the broadcasting of online audiovisual content protected by copyright.
In practice, the Commission is proposing to apply the "country of origin" principle as defined in the Satellite and Cable Directive (93/83/EEC) on content broadcast live or on catch-up on the internet by broadcasters' online equivalents such as MyTFI. In other words, this means that a channel that has obtained broadcasting rights for the country in which it is based, will be able to broadcast its programmes online throughout the European Union. The proposed rules will also allow operators to provide channel clusters that more easily obtain the authorisations they need for broadcasting in other member states by going through collective management bodies representing the rights holders. A few days ago, Commission Vice President Andrus Ansip informed journalists that "our proposals go in the direction of increasing content abroad by 65%, which is quite a remarkable step forward".
These proposals seriously upset the creative industry represented by "Creativity Works!", which has denounced the move as an attack on the sacrosanct territoriality principle. This organisation also includes the Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) and considers that the Commission should stick to its proposal on cross-border portability.
Other strong measures include the Commission's proposal to oblige platforms to use the technological resources that enable them to detect content protected by copyright, in an effort to ensure that the rights holders are paid or the content is withdrawn. "YouTube has asserted that it is already able to identify 95% of this kind of content, while creators have only mentioned a figure of 25%", Ansip stated. The Commission is subsequently proposing to set up a new neighbouring right for publishers, comparable to what already exists in Europe for film and record producers, as well as other actors in the creative industries, such as radio broadcasters. In addition, it is also introducing mandatory exceptions to copyright rules in the education sector, research, the preservation of cultural heritage and access to books for the visually impaired. At the same time, the Commission also confirmed the added value of the panorama exception implemented in the majority of member states and highly recommends its application.
The European Publishers Council (EPC), the Independent Music Companies Association (Impala), the European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) and the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) have reacted relatively positively to these proposals. The European trade association for online platforms, EDiMA, however, has criticised the measures on the transfer of value, neighbouring rights for press publishers and the exception on text and data mining. The European Consumers Office (BEUC), said that the Commission's proposals do not go far enough on the subject of geo-blocking. It also has concerns that the provisions on the transfer of value could have a negative impact on consumers. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)