FSFE welcomes adoption of copyright report in EP's JURI committee

[press at fsfeurope.org]

 = FSFE welcomes adoption of copyright report in EP's JURI committee =

[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150616-01.fi.html ]

In an important step towards modernising the EU's copyright laws, the
Legal Affairs committee of the European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a
report on the Copyright Directive by MEP Julia Reda.

By adopting the report with 23 votes in favour and 2 against, the
committee asks the European Commission to consider a number of important
updates to copyright as it works towards a revision of the EU Copyright
Directive.

"In a world built on information, copyright law is important in shaping
the ways in which we live and work," says Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's
president. "We hope that MEPs will further strengthen the rights of
users as the report moves towards a plenary vote."

FSFE, which provided input[1] to the MEPs on the Legal Affairs committe
ahead of the vote, views the adopted report as largely positive. The
committee generally supported the idea that copyright exceptions and
limitations should apply equally both on- and offline. The MEPs also
voted in favour of allowing authors to dedicate their works directly to
the public domain.

The JURI commmitte adopted language stating that technological measures
such as Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) should not stop users from
enjoying copyright exceptions and limitations. However, the adopted
report leaves out concrete measures to ensure that people can actually
enjoy the full use of works that they have acquired.

On the negative side, the text adopted today is lacking in some
important respects. It does not contain an explicit statement that
hyperlinks do not require a copyright license, so that this essential
building block of the web remains in danger.

Reda's proposal for an "open norm" akin to the "fair use" concept in the
US was significantly weakened. The adopted wording on text and data
mining is regrettably ambiguous. FSFE also regrets the deletion of
language that made a clear distinction between physical and
"intellectual property".

MEPs can still submit amendments to the report. The European Parliament
is scheduled to hold a plenary vote on July 9.

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 1. http://fsfe.org/activities/policy/eu/20150605-Comments-On-Reda-Report.en.html

  == About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==

  The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
  non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
  involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
  participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
  the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
  Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
  furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
  modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
  securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
  Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
  of the FSFE.

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