EU Info Society Services
Informations Society Directive
The Information Society Directive 2001 facilitated so-called information society services. These are principally services provided over the Internet. It seeks to harmonise key aspects of the right on an EU-wide basis. The purpose is that once the service is lawfully provided, no further terms and conditions can be applied by states to the provision of such services cross-border.
The Information Society Directive provides for harmonising rights for performers, record and film producers and broadcast organisations. It provides legal protection for technical protection measures and provides for remedies.
Digital Single Market
The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market 2019 contains a range of changes to existing EU copyright law. It provides an exception for text and data mining for research organisations and cultural heritage institutions. It creates wider exceptions for educational purposes.
The directive includes a right for publishers of press publications in relation to use for commercial purposes online of the press publication by information society service providers. This is not cover the use of individual words, very short extracts, nor does it cover hyperlinking. The period of protection is two years after publication.
The directive makes provision for Internet service providers and equivalent intermediaries.
Content Sharing
Content sharing service providers which make copyrighted information available to the public require a licence. The licence must cover acts by commercial and non-commercial users. There is liability where a licence is not obtained by way of liability for damages.
There is a defence where content sharing service providers demonstrate that they have made best ever efforts in accordance with highest industry standards to ensure the unavailability of unlicensed copyright material and where the rights holders have provided them with the relevant information, they have acted quickly on receiving a substantiated notice to remove unlicensed material and have made best efforts to prevent their future upload.
Start-ups whose turnover is less than €10 million are exempt for the two years of their existence.
Broadcasting
The 2019 directive deals with copyright in relation to online transmissions of broadcasting organisations and the retransmission of television and radio programmes. The law of the member state of origin applies to such services and to ancillary online services. For the purpose of exercising copyright and related rights, the actions are deemed to occur in the state where the broadcasting organisation is established.
Ancillary online services and online services consist of the provision to the public by or under the control of the broadcasting organisation of radio or television programs simultaneously with or for a defined period of time after the broadcast, as well as material ancillary to such broadcasts.
Cable Transmission
The regime for cable transmission to wireless standards retransmission including satellite and OTC services carried out in a managed environment, is subject to the existing scheme. The collective rights management system for copyright and related works is extended.