The copyright system should accomodate legal access to the content we love

For Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Croes, the European copyright system needs to "make it easier for artists to promote their work widely, and to make a living from it". But unfortunately, "the current copyright system achieves all of those objectives poorly."

The copyright system for the digital age needs to be reformed be to make it easier to legally access the content we love. "If you’re in Belgium, for example, licensing restrictions often prevent you legally buying MP3 downloads from other EU countries – even though you could buy the physical CD online and have it posted. Those restrictions to buying cross-border are not just a barrier to our single market: they’re also frustrating for citizens, they prevent artists getting proper reward and recognition, and they make it harder for new ideas like Spotify to spread across the EU."

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Plans to modernise intellectual property laws in the UK

The UK government accepted yesterday (3 August 2011) a new plan to support economic growth by modernising UK intellectual property laws.

The government announced that they will create a central digital exchange to buy and sell copyright licenses as part of a modernization of copyright laws, which partly date from 300 years ago. More details can be found here.

Ministers have accepted the recommendations made by Professor Ian Hargreaves in his report ‘Digital Opportunity: A review of intellectual property and growth’, which estimates a potential benefit to the UK economy of up to £7.9 billion.

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European Commission Publishes New IPR Strategy

The European Commission launched yesterday a new strategy to modernise intellectual property rights (IPR) in the Single Market. The document covers various actions on trademarks, patents, copyright and enforcement. It also sets out a more effective enforcement strategy for intellectual property.

Among the first deliverables of this strategy are today's proposals for

- an easier licensing system for so-called "orphan works ",
- a new regulation to reinforce customs actions in fighting trade of IPR infringing goods, and
- a new proposal to reinforce the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy.

Other topics will be introduced in the second half of the year or next year.

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EU copyright policy endorsing Internet censorship?

A new EU Intellectual Property Rights Strategy will be released tomorrow (24 May 2011). The draft is severely criticised by Internet circles.

Many opponents fear that the Strategy will endorse a growing trend to hold Internet service providers (ISPs)liable for piracy, forcing them to punish the users without the involvement of a judge or jury.

Digital rights campaigners argue that the EU is about to weaken citizens' fundamental rights and give way to an already growing trend of censorship across the EU.

At regional level, Spain, Ireland and the UK have recently decided to tackle piracy with access restrictions, but the laws have been widely contested in the countries' courts.

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