For months had been fighting in the EU violently on the renewal of the copyright. We now have a compromise. What are the chances of the agreement – and why all the fuss?
The EU has agreed in principle on a Reform of the copyright law. So Google and co. should be obliged to remove content that the copyright, no license had been granted. Except for companies that have been in existence for less than three years, whose annual turnover is less than ten million euros and their users is a number under five million a month.
Why the need for a new copyright?
The existing regulations date from the year 2001 – that was a quasi-Internet stone age. At that time there was still no Video platforms such as YouTube, can also upload content protected by copyright, such as the latest Video of your favorite band. And there was also no major search engines like Google, the bites are small pieces of Information (Snippets) from newspaper articles in their search to present.
The Reform is consensual?
No, on the contrary, The Rapporteur of the EU Parliament, the German CDU politician Axel Voss (the one that wrote as the person in charge of the bill), said that the new digital copyright law end “will finally be the wild West of the Internet, rights holders of buttered often”. In contrast, the European politician of the pirate party, Julia Reda, warned that the agreement could lead to “the Internet as we know it, only in the hands of technology and media giants”. Five million Internet users signed a Petition against the Reform. While Google, Wikipedia and other web companies vehemently against the project to protest, a large number of media houses.
What is the dispute?
Controversial two passages are: article 11 includes a European intellectual property right. After that, Online pay platforms, publishers, if you publish such articles – and it was only in excerpts (Snippets). Article 13 provides for a copyright liability of the platform operator, in which content – from the Moment of the upload. In order to prevent the effective you must be used so-called Upload Filter to prevent this is to Upload technical.
Who benefits from the new copyright?
Clearly, the major publishing houses: especially the had calls the new performance right. Your Argument: platforms we use Google News to earn money with the help of spiritual power, have provided employees of these publishing houses, to participate without this of the proceeds. Many small publishers and news sites see it differently: they argue that they would have without the search engines a much smaller range that you benefited from them. Critics of the new Law refer to the legal regulation in Germany: Here there is since 2013 a high-protection law – but it led to yet values money payments to the publishers.
What it has to Filter with this Upload?
Using Upload-Filter refers to computer programs that check when you Upload, whether images, Videos or music are protected by copyright. They are intended to prevent such content can be on platforms such as YouTube. Critics have several objections. For one, such a Filter could not recognize whether something is a parody, a Meme or even just a quote. On the other, could only be afforded by large companies such filters, smaller companies would be denied access to the network. And thirdly, many see in such Filters, the precursor to extensive censorship. The European court of justice (ECJ) shared these concerns, in 2012, in a judgment. And also the Federal government in its coalition agreement explicitly opposed to the Upload Filter.
Is implemented in this design now?
No.Finally, the legislative package is not decided yet: Both the European Parliament and all EU member States must still agree. And in Parliament, there are significant reservations, particularly to article 13. Therefore, the Reform could fail. Voices both sides, the EU member States two years time, the new rules into national law.