European intellectual property: a fair reward and expensive link tax

“We are satisfied that authors and artists will finally receive a fair reward for their work. On the other hand, our start-ups and SMEs are being hit by a link tax, due to which press publishers such as newspapers can charge a Fee A fee is remuneration requested by the government for a specific service that it provides. The difference between a fee and taxes is that there is an immediate service provided in return for a fee. An example is the parking charges that the municipalities can enforce. They can carry out the collection thereof themselves, or contract this out. fee to online news aggregators.” MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt reacts with mixed feelings to the proposed reform of European intellectual property. “I hope that the member states will scrap this tax,” says Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

Proper compensation

The reform of intellectual property is primarily intended to provide an answer to the request from authors and artists for a fairer reward for their work. MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt says: “Their request for proper compensation is more than legitimate. This proposal offers them the necessary security. Incidentally this will take place without a systematic filtering of the internet. That is essential to protect free speech. Our start-ups cannot afford to pay for such filters.”

Less news as a result of link tax

As for the proposed link tax however, it threatens to cost start-ups and SMEs a huge amount of money. “It is logical that people should pay for entire articles. But this link tax also applies for example to the use of merely the title of an article, even though that title is linked through to the original article. Websites that aggregate news are crucial for information that would otherwise remain under the radar. As a result of the link tax, news aggregators will not be able to offer as many articles, meaning that the consumer will have less easy access to news,” says Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

A selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower

In addition, citizens still do not know the sights they will be able to photograph and post on their social media pages without fear of retribution. Anneleen Van Bossuyt: “A selfie in front of the Eiffel Tower on Facebook? It’s still unclear whether that’s allowed. A reform of European intellectual property is not complete without clarity regarding freedom of panorama.”

The proposal is now going to the member states. “We are hoping that there will be more clarity for the citizen concerning this freedom of panorama and also that the link tax is eliminated from the text. Only then can we speak of a balanced and modern European intellectual property,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt concludes.