Brussels, 12/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - During the vote on the Boselli Report (PES, Italy) on "copyright and related rights in the Information Society", authors and interpreting artists call on MEPs to establish better protection of copyright. The report is debated on Tuesday in plenary session in Strasbourg. According to the associations that represent copyright holders, the text adopted by the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (see EUROPE of 8 February, p.14) disproportionately covers the interests of users, broadcasters and Internet access providers.
Not only does the text presented in second reading not settle the problems posed by the Council common position, but it places an unacceptable degree of emphasis on imbalances to the detriment of the authors, states GESAC (Groupement des sociétés d'auteurs et compositeurs) in a press release. "The lack of sensitivity expressed by the rapporteur for copyright and his fear of confronting the Council in conciliation led to the rejection of all proposals for improvement", states the AIDAA (International Association of Audiovisual Writers and Directors), stressing that the Socialist Group is divided on this subject and that the amendments by the rapporteur were adopted with the EPP's backing.
The coalition of copyright holders (made up of around thirty publishers, interpreters, music writers, audiovisual artists, etc.) calls on the Parliament to protect copyright, thanks to which the Information Society is not only a series of equipment and networks but also a "content". Hundreds of thousands of European interpreters represent the future of European culture, states the European grouping of companies that manage the rights of artist performers (Artis), saying they need effective European legislation to allow them to continue exercising their talent.
"One acts as though it were only a matter of the large music publishing houses, such as Times Warner or others, but there are far more independent authors", stresses the GESAC legal adviser, Isabelle Prost "Not everyone is Gerard Depardieu: 95% of artists live solely from the proceeds of their copyright", continued Francesca Greco, Artis Director.
The audiovisual writers or the association of artist performers mainly attack the exception allowing for broadcasters to use their archives for re-diffusion - "an additional exception on an already long list of 21 exceptions" which unbalances completely the relations between the various copyright holders, normally contractually negotiated, states AIDAA. A clause welcomed by the EBU, the European Broadcasting Union, praises the interest of the "European audiovisual heritage".
For the writers as for the artists, one of the essential shortcomings of the text presented to the Parliament concerns the right for remuneration of authors for private copies. According to Artis, the current text on temporary copies would not allow authors to initiate legal action in the case of piracy. By authorising the copies for "private use", the text does not control the number of copies and their diffusion either, stresses Francesca Greco, from Artis. "We are taken for the Ayotollahs of copyright. And yet we do not wish to ban private copying, nor have the works paid for twice", assures Isabelle Prost, of GESAC. In her view, a solution could be a taxation system on copying means (DVD, laser disks, etc.) as there is in 12 Member States on audio or video cassettes, except for Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.