EU: Mandatory upload filtering: Member States question whether Copyright Directive proposals are legal
05 August 2017
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Mandatory upload filtering: Member States question whether Copyright Directive proposals are legal
5.8.17
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The European Commission's proposed Copyright Directive has caused controversy since its publication, particularly with its intention to introduce the automatic filtering of uploads to online content-sharing platforms to try to detect copyright infringements - and even the Member States have concerns. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary Ireland and the Netherlands have asked the Council's Legal Service whether the proposal is compatible with EU law.
Their note, sent to the Legal Service on 25 July and published today by Statewatch, highlights that:
"the [Commission's] proposal does not provide for appropriate measures that would enable these users to actually benefit from public interest copyright exceptions. It is important to point out that certain exceptions to copyright, such as e.g. parody or the quotation right are the embodiment in copyright of fundamental rights other than the right to property."
The note asks:
"Would the standalone measure/ obligation as currently proposed under Article 13 be compatible with the Charter of Human Rights (and more specifically Article 11- freedom of expression and information, Article 8 - Protection of personal data - and Article 16 - Freedom to conduct a business) in the light of the jurisprudence of the CJEU that aims to secure a fair balance in the application of competing fundamental rights?
Are the proposed measures justified and proportionate?"
MEPs, civil society organisations, academics and legal experts have long argued that they are not. It is believed that the Council Legal Services will offer a response at the meeting of the Council's Intellectual Property Working Party on 11-12 September, when national officials will also discuss recent proposals from the Estonian Presidency of the Council on a number of articles including Article 11, dealing with press publishers' rights and Article 13.
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