Brussels, 07/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption of the report by Enrico Boselli (Socialist Group, Italy), on Monday, on copyright and related rights in the information society, the legal and internal market committee of the European Parliament modified with 15 amendments the common position adopted by the Council last September. The European Parliament will give its views on 14 February, in second reading, on the directive whose aim it is to fight against music piracy on the Internet.
The draft directive adjusts the European legislation on copyright and related rights to the new technologies for the diffusion and reproduction of works, seeking to strike a balance between the interests of music publishers, copyright holders, and the other parties: Internet access providers, consumers, libraries, students, etc. The directive will also allow the Community and its Member States to adhere to the treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on copyright and on interpretation, performances and phonograms, concluded in 1996.
The question of exceptions and payment to artists for private copies, was the main stumbling block during the discussions at the Council and Parliament. Refusing around one hundred amendments that would have strengthened copyright to the detriment of users, the EP Committee on the Internal Market maintained the overall balance of the Council's common position. MEPs could, however, adopt in plenary session amendments that strengthen producers' rights. The European Commission fears this could lead to conciliation procedure between the Council and the EP.
The amendments proposed by the Boselli Report specify above all that: 1) an exception is possible for reproductions made by a natural person for private use and for purposes that are neither directly nor indirectly commercial. The Council's position, however, simply spoke of the private use of a natural person for non-commercial purposes; 2) the source must be specified, unless this proves impossible, when a work is used for teaching or research. The Council's position only asked for the source to be mentioned "when this is possible". The report thus reverses the burden of proof; 3) production companies must use their own archives for new productions or à-la-carte services, but on condition that equitable payment is made to the copyright holders.
Consumers partially satisfied
The European Association of Consumer Electronics Manufacturers (EACEM) gave a "cautious welcome" to the result of the EP's internal market committee, it states in a joint press release from several associations. "Given the unprecedented lobbying activities of right-holders, many groups had feared that the delicate balance struck by EU Member States would be broken", said Lucy C. Cronin, Executive Director of EdiMA, the European Digital Media Association. She was pleased to note that the MEPs have on the whole respected this balance.
MEPs "have added a new restriction to the individual's freedom to make a private copy of material he has already bought", noted Townsend Feehan, EACEM Secretary General. Nonetheless, remarked Mark Fell, from the Recording-media Industry Association of Europe, for his part: "attempts from some quarters to introduce double taxation for private copying and the public interest provisions failed".