EU Copyright Reform

The European Parliament has passed its copyright reform. After more than two years of lobbying that involved everyone from Lady Gaga to the head of YouTube, EU lawmakers voted on Tuesday to approve the controversial overhaul with 348 votes in favor and 274 against. The outcome will subject platforms like YouTube and Facebook to a set of new obligations to strike licensing deals that will be put to the test in coming months as EU countries transpose the directive into national law, a process that allows for some margin of interpretation... The European Parliament has passed its copyright reform — at last. After more than two years of lobbying that involved everyone from Lady Gaga to the head of YouTube, EU lawmakers voted on Tuesday to approve the controversial overhaul with 348 votes in favor and 274 against. The outcome will subject platforms like YouTube and Facebook to a set of new obligations to strike licensing deals that will be put to the test in coming months as EU countries transpose the directive into national law, a process that allows for some margin of interpretation. Lobbying around the copyright directive is set to continue as the reform's main opponents, including digital rights activists and big tech companies, turn their attention to national legislatures. But after all the jockeying in Brussels and Strasbourg, supporters of the bill — namely publishers, creative industry players and the European Commission — were quick to applaud the vote as a victory. "Today's vote ensures the right balance between the interests of all players — users, creators, authors, press — while putting in place proportionate obligations on online platforms," the Commission said after the vote. "The Directive will improve the position of creators in their negotiations with big platforms which largely benefit from their content." "This is an unprecedented victory for European creators" — Anders Lassen, president of Gesac Under the final deal, Silicon Valley giants will have to negotiate licensing agreements with rights-holders — such as record companies, collecting societies and media companies — to publish their content on YouTube and Google News. They also face new obligations to monitor their sites for any copyright-infringing content and removing any that falls under those licensing deals. In a separate part of the legislation, authors and performers from the audiovisual and the music sectors won better remuneration rights for the exploitation of their works, and the reform creates a mandatory exception to copyright rules for text and data-mining.... The European Parliament has passed its copyright reform — at last. After more than two years of lobbying that involved everyone from Lady Gaga to the head of YouTube, EU lawmakers voted on Tuesday to approve the controversial overhaul with 348 votes in favor and 274 against. The outcome will subject platforms like YouTube and Facebook to a set of new obligations to strike licensing deals that will be put to the test in coming months as EU countries transpose the directive into national law, a process that allows for some margin of interpretation. Lobbying around the copyright directive is set to continue as the reform's main opponents, including digital rights activists and big tech companies, turn their attention to national legislatures. But after all the jockeying in Brussels and Strasbourg, supporters of the bill — namely publishers, creative industry players and the European Commission — were quick to applaud the vote as a victory. "Today's vote ensures the right balance between the interests of all players — users, creators, authors, press — while putting in place proportionate obligations on online platforms," the Commission said after the vote. "The Directive will improve the position of creators in their negotiations with big platforms which largely benefit from their content." "This is an unprecedented victory for European creators" — Anders Lassen, president of Gesac Under the final deal, Silicon Valley giants will have to negotiate licensing agreements with rights-holders — such as record companies, collecting societies and media companies — to publish their content on YouTube and Google News. They also face new obligations to monitor their sites for any copyright-infringing content and removing any that falls under those licensing deals. In a separate part of the legislation, authors and performers from the audiovisual and the music sectors won better remuneration rights for the exploitation of their works, and the reform creates a mandatory exception to copyright rules for text and data-mining.Also On PoliticoGermans’ last-ditch drive to derail EU copyright dealLaura Kayali and Janosch DelckerAlso On PoliticoWinners and losers of Europe’s copyright reformLaura Kayali The creative sector, which has been asking for a copyright reform for many years, welcomed the outcome. "This is an unprecedented victory for European creators, who will now be able to exercise their rights and receive fair remuneration from platforms such as YouTube," said Anders Lassen, the president of Gesac, a lobby organization representing collecting societies in Brussels....

https://www.politico.eu