Strasbourg, 14/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Parliament modified, the Council's common position on "copyright and related rights in the information society", by only retaining 9 amendments from its Legal and Internal Market Committee. Fifteen parliamentarians announced before their vote their intention to abstain by raising their "interests" either as an author, or broadcaster. Due to this, several amendments were rejected in the absences of the 314 votes required in second reading.
The Parliament had one the whole maintained the balance, between the rights of creators and consumers, as it was envisaged in the Council's common position, a conciliation procedures should not be necessary, said the rapporteur, Enrico Boselli (ESP, Italy). "I have every reason to believe that today's vote will be the final vote", he assured, while recalling that Commissioner Bolkestein said he was in agreement with the amendments that where finally adopted. Enrico Boselli hoped that the Directive may rapidly enter into force, by underlining that the EP has reduced the time for the transposition of the Directive from two years to one and a half. This will allow, at the same time, the Member States to accede to the 1996 convention of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on copyright in the information society, and, due to this, accelerate the ratification of the international convention, recalled the rapporteur. The EU will thus have finally "a legal basis for the protection of intellectual property in the digital environment", with two years delay on the "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" of the United States, underlined Enrico Boselli.
The future Directive on copyright in the digital era, will define the rights for reproduction, communication to the public, distribution and possible exceptions. It will also define private copies and technical measures taken to protect and diffuse works.
The "starting point of the Directive, in its Article 2, is that a work cannot be diffused on the internet without the authorisation of its author", recalled the rapporteur. The text adopted on Wednesday by the Parliament defined 21 possible exceptions to this principal, among others for private copies, copies used by libraries, researchers, handicapped etc. It will be up to the Member States to specify which are the exceptions, among these twenty odd possibility, of which they would like to make use. The only exception concerning "transitional" copies will be obligatory for all Member States. A revision clause foresees that the exceptions may be reassessed after 18 months.
"I maintained the exception for libraries and pushed back the amendments that would have removed them as copyright must be protected, but also the right to knowledge when the copy is not for profit", assured the rapporteur. An amendment which would have authorised the radiobroadcasters to use their archives for broadcasting was not adopted.
In an amendment adopted by 471 votes, 53 against and 23 abstentions, the EP reduced the possibilities for the interpretation of the notion of "private copy", by stipulating that it concerns "reproductions carried out on an materials by a physical person for private use and for indirect ends or indirectly commercial". "We understand by private use, copies limited to the family, with the exception of copies distributes widely by circles of friends for example", commented before the press the German Christian Democrat Angelika Niebler, by adding that it "is up to the court to decide" what is the scope of the private circle.
Angelika Niebler assured that the copyrights will be protected by Articles 6 and 8 of the Directive by imposing on Member States to foresee a system of sanctions. Though she regrets that the EP rejected (by 328 votes against), an amendments that would have forced the Member States to inform the Commission when they where considering introducing a new taxation system in the internal market, as is presently the case. While Germany levies a copyright tax on hardware material, France the tax on supports: due to this, somebody who buys their computer in German and his disks in France will be taxed twice", she pointed out.
The text approved by the Parliament was generally satisfactory for the Internet network operators and radiobroadcasters (despite the rejection of the clause on the use of archives), but was welcomed in a highly mitigated manner by the representatives of authors and musicians. "The text represents a slight improvement on the Council's common position over the term private copy for example, but does not always protect the author", felt for example Cecile Despringre, legal advisor to the International Association of Audio-visual Writers and Directors (AIDAA).
"Balanced", this is the word that arose most often in this debate, with often divergent interpretations over what allows to asserts that the balance between the creators and producers rights and the rights of consumers is respected in a suitable manner. For the rapporteur, Enrico Boselli (Italian member of the Socialist group), we can say that, eighteen months after the first reading and after difficult and delicate talks, the amended Articles to the Detective concerning "technical" copies and "private" copies ensures this balance. The text clearly asserts that private copies must not have a commercial purpose, even indirect, and must generate a equitable remuneration for the authors: some amendments on this issue, laudable in their inspiration, would have introduced a system of double authorisation and thus cannot be accepted. Most of the parliamentarians where able to follow the rapporteur, but with nuances, including within the political groups. Thus, the Spanish Socialist Manuel Medina Ortega insists over the need to submit private copies to sever criteria, while accepting the position of the Legal Committee, while the German Social Democrat Willy Rothley bitterly asserted that the Parliament gave into the pressure from lobbyists (there where 300 lobby representatives who followed the whole of this debate, noted the Dutch Liberal Toine Manders) and refused to protect culture. It is a lopsided compromise, but I can accept it, said the Finnish Liberal Astrid Thors, while the Belgian Liberal Willy De Clerq called for a break to be applied to copying. The British Conservatives are in favour of the Directive as the Legal Committee has amended it, stated Theresa Villiers, and they are opposed to any new amendment that would attempt to eliminate to exception foreseen for public interest groups (libraries, schools among others). Though the CSU members Joachim Wurmeling and Angelika Niebler (EPP/ED group) would like for an exception to be also foreseen for radio archives, proposal that Mrs Villiers finds more contestable. Also, in the same group, Jenelly Fortou (UDF, French), insisted over the need for the Internet not to be a lawless area, while the Portuguese Vasco Graca Moura feels that it would have been better to work for another eighteen months, rather than adopt a text, which, in fact, favours piracy. Jose Saramago, Portuguese writer and winner of the Noble prize for Literature, wrote to express his concern, added Mr Graca Moura. Unanimity also does not reign within the Europe of Nations group: the Dane Ole Krarup says yes to a "weighted" proposal, as does the Irishman Brian Cowley, who underlines the wisdom and patience of the rapporteur, while the Frenchman William Abitbol denounced the dangers of the information society, by regretting that Europe becomes the "complacent slipper of globalisation". The Left is more critical. If we vote for this text, we privilege consumers, stated the Frenchwoman Genevieve Fraisse, Independent member of the United Left group; but to consume what, if we do not defend creation, she asked. Also Raina Echerer, Austrian member of the Greens group (who is also an actor), defended the amendments from her group, which try to strengthen the artists rights and those of the creator, by calling for as much clarity as is possible, and also for a culture only accessible to all, but for true content.
The last word was that the President of the Legal Committee, Ana Palacio Villelersundi (Partido Popular, Spain): the Directive can be criticised, but better is the enemy of what is achievable, and the Boselli report in particular allows the Union to respect its international obligations.
Also to increase is competitive ability against other countries, underlined Fritz Bolkestein on behalf of the European Commission. It is prepared to accept most of the amendments from the Legal Committee, apart from certain amendments concerning the sanctions (already foreseen elsewhere in the text) or new exceptions (bringing with them the danger of not respecting international obligations), while it rejects the amendments presented by other parliamentarians.