European reform of copyright turns the clock back

The European Commission has made known its long-awaited plans for reforming copyright. Modernisation was urgently required as a result of ultra-rapid digital developments. “The sectors in question need copyright that is adapted to the 21st century,” says Member of the European Parliament Anneleen Van Bossuyt. “But the Commission is turning the clock backwards, not forwards.”

Anneleen Van Bossuyt had expected that the Commision would stimulate creativity by simplifying the legislation and giving every chance to new business models. “But today’s proposals aren’t a step forwards,” she says. Among other things she points to the fact that anyone taking a picture of a building in a public location and distributing it online sometimes still needs permission from the artist or architect.

Dangerous taxes

Anneleen Van Bossuyt also has her doubts regarding the so-called YouTube tax, a tax on video and music streaming services which is intended to provide extra financial compensation for artists: “Users must at all time have access to legally-obtained content to discover the cultural value of music or movies. Or do we want the creative industry to move to the USA lock, stock and barrel? Of course, artists do need to be paid for their work.”

Neither can the tax on hyperlinks (links that take users to a new page) count on much comprehension from Anneleen Van Bossuyt. Publishers can charge this tax to news aggregators such as Google News, which make use of snippets of text, referrals, hyperlinks, etc. that are freely available elsewhere on the internet.