[Advocacy Advisors] EU Monitoring Report - February

Tue Mar 4 21:45:54 UTC 2014

Lovely, thanks a lot!

Would be a perfect fit for the next Wikimedia:Woche, woudln't it? :D
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia:Woche/N%C3%A4chste_Woche#Projekte_und_Initiativen

Nicole

On 4 March 2014 11:58, Bence Damokos <bdamokos at gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for this report, Dimi.
>
> Best regards,
> Bence
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 9:43 AM, Dimitar Parvanov Dimitrov
> <dimitar.parvanov.dimitrov at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Wikimedia and the EU
>>
>> February Report
>>
>>
>> We've had some crazy weeks over here with things happening on the
>> political, policy and legal fronts and across Brussels, Luxembourg and
>> Strasbourg.
>>
>>
>> Dimi
>>
>>
>> tl;dr
>>
>> A White Paper on copyright can be expected before the summer break,
>> according to Commissioner Barnier. He also wants to revive the attempts for
>> "notice and action" legislation, although even his staff in Brussels was
>> unaware of that. In Luxembourg, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that no
>> extra permission is needed to link to content available online. Finally, in
>> Strasbourg, the Parliament passed the Collective Rights Management Directive
>> explicitly allowing "non-commercial" licensing.
>>
>>
>> This and past reports:
>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Monitor/MR
>>
>>
>> ToC
>>
>> 1. Beyond the Copyright Consultation
>>
>> 2. CJEU: Linking to Copyrighted Content Without Permission Legal
>>
>> 3. Restarting the Notice and Take Down Directive
>>
>> 4. Collective Rights Management Directive Adopted
>>
>> 5. Short Stories: Internet Governance, Food Porn and a Study on InfoSoc
>>
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> #copyright
>>
>> 1. Beyond the Copyright Consultation
>>
>>
>> Why is this relevant?
>>
>> The Consultation on Copyright by the European Commission [1] targets
>> almost all our IP issues areas and is likely to play a significant role in a
>> possible future copyright reform.
>>
>>
>> What happened?
>>
>> The consultation was extended by one month until the 5th of March just a
>> few days before the initial deadline. According to the Commission, this
>> happened because of a massive amount of requests from all sectors. Rumours
>> started that an internal struggle between office and cabinet was the reason
>> for this last-minute decision, [2] which could mean that the services
>> (bureaucrats) want to push the dossier ahead, while the cabinet (political
>> staff, to be exchanged this year) is hesitant. The problem here is that we
>> can't know whether the next cabinet will be at all keen on reforming
>> copyright.
>>
>>
>> What comes next?
>>
>> Commissioner Barnier announced during his speech at plenary session of the
>> European Parliament in Strasbourg that a White Paper on copyright is to be
>> finalised before summer. [3] According to other sources from DG MARKT the
>> current consultation and a number of recently released [4] and to-be
>> released studies will be the basis for this document.  White Papers in the
>> EU propose actions in specific policy areas.
>>
>> On a side note, we have also asked DG MARKT to release the data sets of
>> the consultation responses, which they've said they will try to do. [4a]
>>
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> #svensson
>>
>> 2. CJEU Rules Linking to Copyrighted Content Without Permission to be
>> Legal
>>
>>
>> Why is this relevant?
>>
>> It partly defines the legality of linked or even embedded content. The
>> question posed to the court was whether or not one has to clear permission
>> with the copyright holder before linking to their content online.
>>
>>
>> What happened?
>>
>> The court's ruling [5] was that linking to publicly accessible content
>> does not constitute a new case of "communication to the public", i.e. giving
>> access. This means that no new permissions need to be granted for linking to
>> materials online. The judgement does not regard the cases of linking to
>> illegal content. It makes, however, no difference if the user is given the
>> impression that the work is on the initial website (e.g. framing,
>> embedding). Further reading: [6][7]
>>
>>
>> What comes next?
>>
>> The decision could also have implication on Germany's "ancillary copyright
>> for press publishers" [8] with similar legal proposals currently under
>> discussion in other EU countries. [9] as the court ruled in its fourth
>> answer that Member States are not allowed to redefine the concept of
>> "communication to the public" and hence give copyright holders wider
>> protection than is defined in the InfoSoc Directive (2009/29/EC). [10]
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> #NTD
>>
>> 3. Notice and Take Down Directive Seemingly Revived by Barnier
>>
>> Why is this relevant?
>>
>> Such a Directive would regulate how (allegedly) illegal content can be
>> taken off the internet by request of (self-proclaimed) copyright holders.
>>
>>
>> What happened?
>>
>> After a public consultation was held in 2012 [11] and in 2013 the whole
>> project was given up by DG Internal Market after it seemed impossible to
>> reconcile all the stakeholders in an acceptable way. [12] Back then nobody
>> was able to find a compromise on the strong demand by civil society
>> organisations to introduce a "counter notice", giving content providers a
>> chance to appeal the take down procedure. Beginning of February 2014, at the
>> Strasbourg session of Parliament, Commissioner Barnier announced its
>> revival. [13]
>>
>> It is however unclear how this issue will be resolved, since the only
>> relevant things the Commissioner said were that it will not be "strictly
>> linked to copyright" and that it will be done with "full respect for
>> fundamental rights"
>>
>>
>> What comes next?
>>
>> We don't yet know how to interpret Barnier's statements and if we should
>> interpret them widely or narrowly. It is also unclear if this is a seriously
>> ment legislative attempt or just a political manoeuvre. Either way, Notice
>> and Take Down is back on the table for now.
>>
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> #CRM
>>
>> 4. Collective Rights Management Directive Adopted
>>
>> Why is this relevant?
>>
>> Collective rights management societies are in many EU countries state
>> condoned monopolies. Due to their exclusive and restrictive contracts with
>> authors, it was impossible for musicians to release their works under
>> permissive licenses.
>>
>>
>> What happened?
>>
>> The European Parliament adopted during its plenary session beginning of
>> February the Collective Rights Management Directive. [14] Luckily, the
>> Directive forces collecting societies to allow their clients a more liberal
>> licensing. Unluckily, this is only the case for non-commercial licenses. A
>> coalition of civil society groups, including Creative Commons and Communia
>> [15][16] had lobbied for free licenses, but had to compromise on the
>> non-commercial component.
>>
>>
>> What comes next?
>>
>> We (Wikimedia/Free Knowledge Advocacy Group) tried to point out the
>> importance of truly free licenses, but started our efforts way too late and
>> after the main compromises were struck. There are two teachings to take from
>> this. Firstly, it is crucial to follow up legislative procedures as early as
>> possible. Secondly, even the most like-minded partners don't always have the
>> same priorities.
>>
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> #IG #InfoSoc #foodporn
>>
>> 5. Shorts
>>
>>
>> Internet Governance
>>
>> The European Commission released a statement calling for a move towards
>> the internationalisation of the governance of the internet away from
>> California-based ICANN. [17]
>>
>> ---
>>
>> Information Society Directive
>>
>> A new (600 page) study on the InfoSoc Directive, commissioned by the
>> Internal Market and Services Directorate General (DG MARKT), has been
>> released. [18] According to a DG MARKT representative it will, along with
>> other studies and the current copyright consultation, play a pivotal role in
>> the coming White Paper on copyright. There is a Wikimedia initiative to
>> collaboratively work through the paper. [19]
>>
>> ---
>>
>> Food Porn
>>
>> French chefs have been active in the media recently complaining about
>> "food porn", i.e. taking pictures of food and posting them on social
>> networks. One of the claims is that this constitutes an infringement of
>> intellectual property rights. [20]
>>
>> -----------------
>> -----------------
>>
>>
>> [1]http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/2013/copyright-rules/docs/consultation-document_en.pdf
>>
>> [2]https://twitter.com/teirdes/status/429260615597576193
>>
>> [3]https://twitter.com/MBarnierEU/status/430618637121359872
>>
>>
>> [4]http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/docs/studies/131216_study_en.pdf
>>
>> [4a]https://twitter.com/EU_Markt/status/438329907836620800
>>
>>
>> [5]http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=147847&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=60713
>>
>> [6]http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/early-thoughts-on-svensson.html
>>
>>
>> [7]http://kluwercopyrightblog.com/2014/02/21/the-svensson-case-and-the-act-of-communication-to-a-new-public/
>>
>> [8]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancillary_copyright
>>
>>
>> [9]http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/an-ancillary-right-over-news-to-be-soon.html
>>
>> [10]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InfoSoc_Directive
>>
>>
>> [11]http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/e-commerce/notice-and-action/index_en.htm
>>
>> [12]http://www.iptegrity.com/index.php/ipred/893
>>
>>
>> [13]http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/plenary/video?debate=1391500981594
>>
>>
>> [14]http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&reference=A7-2013-0281&language=EN&mode=XML#title1
>>
>> [15]http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/40959
>>
>>
>> [16]http://www.communia-association.org/2013/01/07/communia-policy-paper-on-proposed-directive-on-collective-management-of-copyright/
>>
>> [17]http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-142_en.htm
>>
>>
>> [18]http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/copyright/docs/studies/131216_study_en.pdf
>>
>> [19]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Research/Study_on_InfoSoc
>>
>>
>> [20]http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/chefs-take-issue-with-food-porn-but.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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-- 
Nicole Ebber
Leiterin Internationales
Head of International Affairs

Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. +49 30 219158 26-0

http://wikimedia.de

Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.V.
Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg
unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das
Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/681/51985.