EU policy/Copyright Reform Resource Pool
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Materials and Information on 2016-2019 EU Copyright Reform
In September 2016 the European Commission published a Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. The proposal has been geared towards balancing out market relationships between the rightsholders and the online intermediaries and it only marginally touches users' rights. Getting informed is the first step to a successful action towards ensuring that user freedoms online such as freedom of speech and access to public domain, copyright exceptions and limitations including freedom of panorama or education exception as well as ability to create and share free and open content are secure. Here we suggest source materials as well as cheat-sheets and visual materials to get informed and sensitize our community, decision-makers and citizens to this important reform.
Official documents listed here are sometimes available in various language versions on the source page. All other materials listed here are freely licensed and can be localized, translated and transformed to fit your needs. If you make a translation or adaptation, please add a link with information on the language version.
Cheat-sheets and Brochures
[edit]Leaflets explaining our key policy points in the context of the Reform
- Freedom of Panorama - one of the crucial copyright exceptions for Wikimedia community
- Safeguarding Public Domain - because all that is under copyright will become public domain one day
- Text and Data Mining - the right to read is the right to mine
- Intermediary Liability - should platforms be responsible for the activity of their users?
These materials have been translated into French. Contact us if you would like to get the source files.
A joint initiative of European Digital Rights and Communia to explain the most pressing problems on one page. To be administered to politicians and citizens alike.
- Introduction - why would we even care?
- #1 Different rights for users in different EU countries - how the lack of copyright harmonisation fragments the Digital Market
- #2 Access to news and information content online will be restricted - putting tax on links will not help the news (proposed article 11 of the Reform)
- #3 Mandatory upload filters create a censorship machine - filtering the content users upload to platforms will lead to limiting free speech (proposed article 13 of the Reform)
- #4 Innovative business models will likely emerge outside Europe - according to the EU, the right to read is not the right to mine (proposed article 3 of the Reform)
- #5 Different licences in member states will further fragment access to education in Europe - this idea for education does not go beyond the 20th-century classroom (proposed article 4 of the Reform)
Campaigns and petitions
[edit]A campaign by Centrum Cyfrowe showcasing amazing innovations that good copyright could enable. But will we get to see them? Check it out!
Creators love creating and copyright should help them. But the dangerous content filtering proposal may put a lid on European creativity. See what artists have to say about the content filtering proposal. Are you a creator? Add your perspective to the discussion!
"But I only make memes, I am not an artist!" Make no mistake, content filtering will go after your memes as well. This campaign by Bits of Freedom explains why and lets you call the decision-makers free of charge (call and tell your friends to do the same!)
We should keep copyright out of the classroom. For that we need a good education exception. Check the petition that was sent to the European Parliament on the issue.
Best Practices in Copyright
[edit]An initiative by COMMUNIA to showcase how copyright exceptions benefit society and not destroy creative markets in:
- Estonia - the best case scenario for education exception
- Finland - the best case scenario for quotation exception
- France - the best case scenario for parody exception
- Portugal - the best case scenario for freedom of panorama
- A recipe for lawmakers - how to create a great copyright exception? Explanation and infographics
The campaign includes infographics and social media posts, two-pagers and an extensive legal analysis of the cases. Enjoy!
Advocacy in the EU
[edit]An excellent resource for a better orientation on EU institutions and legislative process by EDRi
Official documents
[edit]- Proposal for a Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market - the European Commission's proposal for the reform that has been subsequently discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union
- CULT Final Opinion on the Proposal - the opinion issued by the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament
- IMCO Final Opinion on the Proposal - the opinion issued by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament]
- ITRE Final Opinion on the Proposal - the opinion issued by the Industry Research and Energy Committee of the European Parliament
- JURI Final Opinion on the Proposal - the opinion by Legal Affairs Committee is in progress
- LIBE Final Opinion on the Proposal - the opinion issued by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament