Poland is about to bring an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union to challenge Directive 2019/790 on copyright reform. This was announced by the Polish authorities on their Twitter account (under the hashtag #acta2), indicating that this complaint would be officially submitted on Friday 24 May.
The Directive is expected to enter into force on 6 June and to be transposed by all Member States by 7 June 2021. But Poland considers that this is contrary to European law. It raises four arguments: 1) the Directive does not strike the right balance between the protection of rights holders and the interests of citizens and businesses; 2) it does not provide legal clarity; 3) it could have a negative impact on competition in the digital single market; and 4) there is a risk that it may prevent innovation rather than promote it.
Poland hopes to receive the support, in its approach, of Member States which, when voting in the Council of the EU, had voted against the text (Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Poland and Sweden) or abstained (Belgium, Estonia and Slovenia) (see EUROPE 12236/4). At that time, the slingers had adopted a written statement explaining their grievances. This statement is available at: https://bit.ly/2VZNRRB. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)