Re: [Advocacy Advisors] Questions to the European Commission

Me again. All the talks with the Commission where really open and sometimes frank, so you will understand that I cannot share everything on this mailing list. Also, not all the questions several of you have put together [1] could be answered, but I made sure to include them in the conversation and explained that we have a community that is keen on working on this and has some question. Thich does leave a lasting impression. Here are some answers I can give: *How can we help? Everyone is worried about producing a piece of legislation that would gather enough support to actually pass. In this line of thought, I believe that traditionally conservative countries (see who is red on the FoP map) might pose an obstacle. Getting some national (even if limited or unofficial) support would be very reassuring for everyone working on this. A major issue is to square the circle, that is to assure legislation is flexible and provides legal certainty at the same time. *Timeline of the drafting? 6-18 months. Realistic to expect a text before summer. *Who exactly is drafting it? (names, departments) Lead is with DG Connect Unit Copyright. Horizontal integration (as it is a versatile issue) is the task of VP Ansip's cabinet. *When are the next public hearings in EP and how are they organised? They're still dealing with analysing the consultation and writing the text. Perhaps no further public consultations until reform text published. Maybe on fringe issues only. *Content? Still unclear, as it might even be split into a Directive and a Regulation. This tactical decision will determine whether we're writing something from scratch or just updating an old piece of law-making. Sure to be included is at least some harmonisation on exceptions and topics like "user-generated content". Fuzzy on details and scope. *Checking their preferences on harmonisation? Would love to, but afraid of Member States blocking it. *Is there a chance to touch neighbouring rights like database rights and sui generis heritage laws? *Do you agree that any copyright must be rebalanced in the citizens/people/users/public favour? If it is just an update of the 2001 Directive - no. If it is a major overhaul of the copyright regime in general - yes. There seems to be strong political willingness to do the latter, but it will depend if the Member States are willing to go along with it. *Is public domain on the radar? No. Wikimedia and Communia are currently the only two organisations talking about PD or the commons on the EU level. Communia has no paid time in Brussels. * Where do you get most opposition from Strictly Dimi answering here: Publishers, France, Italy * Any unexpected supporters? Strictly Dimi answering here: Visual artists (photographers) could be on our side. * Is there a chance to establish a "principle of the most favourable copyright law" Currently not on radar. Focus on harmonisation/trans-border access to content. Hope this is useful and interesting! Cheers, Dimi [1]http://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/EuropeanCommissionMeetings 2014-11-14 9:07 GMT+01:00 Dimitar Parvanov Dimitrov < dimitar.parvanov.dimitrov(a)gmail.com&gt;gt;: