The European Parliament’s vote on EU digital copyright today (September 12) is a “one of a kind opportunity” to reform legislation according to the European commissioner for for Digital Single Market.
Speaking at the end of yesterday’s debate on the Article 13 proposals which MEPs vote on this afternoon, Andrus Ansip told the chamber there was “a clear consensus that there is a need to modernise the European copyright framework” and that EU needs to move forward on the issue quickly or risk creating a “lose, lose situation” for all concerned.
“[It is a] one of a kind opportunity to adapt copyright rules to a digital age,” the Vice-President of the EC in charge of Digital Single Market told the parliament. “If we fail to start trialogue negotiations [within the EU's main institutions], the directive may be pushed back several years. In this case, in the short term there will be only one winner: large platforms. No one else.
“Not creators and artists, not citizens, not researchers, not teachers, not even start-ups and small platforms can win – and not even bigger platforms can win from fragmentation. It will be a lose, lose situation.”
You can watch Ansip’s statement to the European Parliament below.
Article 13 seeks to put the responsibility on platforms to police copyright in advance of posting user generated content on their services, either by restricting items or by acquiring the correct licenses for the copyrighted material.
The proposal have been opposed by services like YouTube, who are urging MEPs to vote against them fearing they will stifle creativity, while many artists, publishers and labels have welcome the reforms.
Read Music Week’s interview with Rosanne Cash on Article 13.
