June 11, 2018

The Factsheet sets out the Commission’s aims in modernising EU copyright laws, what the current problems are and what the Commission believes the solutions to be. It also summarises what has been done so far and what the next steps will be.

The Commission notes that rights holders currently benefit from the opportunities that digital offers, but they find it difficult to negotiate with online platforms.

Accordingly, the Commission wants to strengthen the position of rights holders in their negotiations with online platforms and thus enable them to be better remunerated for the use of their creative content, which largely benefits these platforms.

As for the solutions, on 14 September 2016 the Commission presented a series of modernised copyright rules that reflect the new challenges presented by digital technologies and aim to achieve:

• better choice and access to content online and across borders;
• a fairer and sustainable marketplace
for authors, creators, the creative industries and the press;
• improved rules on education, research, cultural heritage and inclusion of disabled people; and
• a positive impact in terms of employment and growth on copyright-intensive industries, which represent almost 11,650,000 jobs (5.4%) and €915,000 million (6.8%) of EU GDP.

The Factsheet sets out the achievements so far, including adoption of the Regulation on cross border portability of online content services, and publication by the Commission of proposals to modernise EU copyright rules and to facilitate access to content online.

In terms of next steps, the Factsheet states that:

• the Council has reached an agreement on a mandate to open negotiations with the European Parliament on the new Copyright Directive;
• the proposal for a Regulation facilitating access online is being finalised between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;
• EU Member States have until 11 October 2018 to adopt Directive 2017/1563/EU that implements the Marrakesh Treaty; and
• all pending Digital Single Market proposals should be agreed by the end of 2018.

To read the Factsheet in full, click here.