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Business News Digital Labels & Publishers Legal
European Commission ramps up pressure on EU states to implement the copyright directive
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 28 July 2021
Hey Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia! What’s taking you so long in implementing the damn European Copyright Directive? Catch up slackers of Europe!
Not my words, but the words of the European Commission. Well, technically my words. But the Commission’s sentiment. It has written to all those countries asking them for an update on the implementation of the 2019 copyright directive which – of course – includes the reform to the copyright safe harbour that the music industry lobbied so hard to secure.
With EU directives, each member state is meant to amend their national laws to bring them in line with changes in European law. The deadline for doing that with the copyright directive was 7 Jun. But there have been some delays in many countries. What with some of those copyright reforms being rather complicated and somewhat controversial. And the small matter of a slightly distracting global pandemic. And, of course, all round laziness in the law-making chambers of Europe.
“The Commission has requested Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia to communicate information about how the rules included in the Directive On Copyright In The Digital Single Market are being enacted into their national law”, the EC stated earlier this week.
“As the member states above have not communicated national transposition measures or have done it only partially, the Commission decided today to open infringement procedures by sending letters of formal notice”, it went on, adding that the reforms in the copyright directive “modernise EU copyright rules” and “enable consumers and creators to make the most of the digital world”.
“They reinforce the position of creative industries”, it added, and also “allow for more digital uses in core areas of society. It then concluded: “These member states now have two months to respond to the letters and take the necessary measures. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue reasoned opinions”.
Blimey, not reasoned opinions! Anyway, governments and parliaments of Europe, hurry up and implement the copyright directive, will you? We’d do it here in the UK too if we could, but, you know, Brexit, we hate Brussels, fuck the foreigners, you all smell, we don’t care if our copyright regime is flawed, at least it’s British!
