The Vice-President in charge of the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, has announced that the EU copyright reform will be delayed until September because the Commission still needs further inputs.
The European Commission had previously indicated that the new draft Directive on Copyright would be announced in spring or summer 2016.
For more than a year, AMEC has been collaborating with FIBEP to work with Euralia, a public affairs firm in Brussels. Now the Commission has announced it will launch new public consultations as they look to tackle exceptions to copyright. Hyperlinks will not be subject to copyright and the difficulties in Text & Data Mining will be addressed in the legislation to come.
Christophe Dickès, Co-Chair of the AMEC/FIBEP Copyright Committee said: “The postponement of the reform clearly shows that the Commission is facing a burning issue which leads to diverging views between stakeholders, ranging from civil associations to Member states. It also proves that the Commission may have underestimated the issue’s importance of European reform on copyright. That is why the EC really needs more time to set up the best copyright environment”
He added: “All AMEC members should know that we are doing our best to have a voice in Brussels and to work with all the main stakeholders to protect these activities and industry. We are working to respect the three principles of fair price, fair Market and flexibility by using content in our process.”