Brief d.d. 19 december 2014 van de European Copyright Society aan de Europese Commissie, waarin wordt aangedrongen op eenmaking van het auteursrecht.
"In this letter, however, we would like to go a step further and underscore the need for a more forward looking and further reaching reform of copyright in the EU – in the form of actual Union-wide unification (not further harmonization) of copyright. The Members of the European Copyright Society are convinced that the time is now ripe to start work on a European Copyright Law that would apply directly and uniformly across the Union.
Despite almost 25 years of harmonization of copyright in the EU, copyright law in Europe has essentially remained national law. Each Member State still has its own law on copyright and neighbouring (related) rights that applies strictly within its own territory. This territoriality has led to fragmentation of markets along national borderlines, critically impeding the establishment of a Digital Single Market for creative content, and undermining the Union’s international competitiveness.
[...] In the opinion of the European Copyright Society a more ambitious solution is now called for: true unification of copyright by way of a European Copyright Law (Regulation) that would replace national legal titles. Article 118 of the TFEU, introduced by the Lisbon Reform Treaty, creates a specific competence for the European legislature to establish intellectual property rights with direct Union-wide effect.
While copyright unification may be considered undesirable, or perhaps too drastic, by certain stakeholders and national legislatures, this is in our opinion the only way a fully functioning Digital Single Market for copyright-based goods and services can ultimately be achieved. It is in fact the logical next step for the EU legislature to take in this field.
The European Copyright Society sees several major advantages of unification. A European Copyright Law would establish a truly unified legal framework, replacing the multitude of – often opaque and sometimes conflicting – national rules that presently exists. It would have instant Union-wide effect, thereby creating a single market for copyrights and related rights, both online and offline. A European Copyright Law would enhance legal security and transparency, for right owners and users alike, and greatly reduce transaction and enforcement costs, including those resulting from the still pending issues of jurisdiction and...
"In this letter, however, we would like to go a step further and underscore the need for a more forward looking and further reaching reform of copyright in the EU – in the form of actual Union-wide unification (not further harmonization) of copyright. The Members of the European Copyright Society are convinced that the time is now ripe to start work on a European Copyright Law that would apply directly and uniformly across the Union.
Despite almost 25 years of harmonization of copyright in the EU, copyright law in Europe has essentially remained national law. Each Member State still has its own law on copyright and neighbouring (related) rights that applies strictly within its own territory. This territoriality has led to fragmentation of markets along national borderlines, critically impeding the establishment of a Digital Single Market for creative content, and undermining the Union’s international competitiveness.
[...] In the opinion of the European Copyright Society a more ambitious solution is now called for: true unification of copyright by way of a European Copyright Law (Regulation) that would replace national legal titles. Article 118 of the TFEU, introduced by the Lisbon Reform Treaty, creates a specific competence for the European legislature to establish intellectual property rights with direct Union-wide effect.
While copyright unification may be considered undesirable, or perhaps too drastic, by certain stakeholders and national legislatures, this is in our opinion the only way a fully functioning Digital Single Market for copyright-based goods and services can ultimately be achieved. It is in fact the logical next step for the EU legislature to take in this field.
The European Copyright Society sees several major advantages of unification. A European Copyright Law would establish a truly unified legal framework, replacing the multitude of – often opaque and sometimes conflicting – national rules that presently exists. It would have instant Union-wide effect, thereby creating a single market for copyrights and related rights, both online and offline. A European Copyright Law would enhance legal security and transparency, for right owners and users alike, and greatly reduce transaction and enforcement costs, including those resulting from the still pending issues of jurisdiction and...
