EU en de heffingen
Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. Speech 29 november 2006, Cultural Diversity and Creative Rights Conference.
Met name aandacht voor de twee grote projecten van de commissie, ten eerste de "Recommendation on online licensing" uit oktober 2005 en, ten tweede de copyright levies. Met betrekking tot de coptyright levies geeft McCreevy aan dat eind dit jaar een initiatief van de Commissie zal worden gelanceerd.
“For some time, together with my services, I have been examining the EU's regulatory framework on copyright to ensure that it remains suited to our current needs. This on-going process has resulted in two Commission initiatives – one adopted last year and one to be brought forward in the very near future – in which there has been particularly strong interest.
My approach to both matters – the licensing of music in the online environment and the question of fair compensation for legitimate acts of private copying – has been the same. I have worked hard to find a balanced way forward, one that takes into account the best interests of all stakeholders, rightsholders, industry and consumers, and that can contribute most to ensuring a strong and vibrant future for Europe's creative sector.
(…) Although it remains early days, and we are monitoring developments carefully, there are signs that the Recommendation has had a positive effect. We are seeing new platforms – in which societies pool their repertoires for the purposes of offering EU-wide licences - emerging. Contrary to some expectations, these have not been limited to Anglo-American works. We will continue to keep matters under review and, in this, your views and experiences will of course be very welcome.
You will all, no doubt, be aware, of the Commission's intention to bring forward an initiative on the question of copyright levies by the end of this year. It is an issue that has given rise to an intense debate in recent times – not all of it, I am sorry to say, well-informed. I am, therefore, particularly pleased to have this opportunity to explain my thinking.
We have monitored the application of the Copyright Directive carefully since its adoption in 2001. We have had several consultation exercises, including on the specific question of fair compensation and copyright levies. As a result of this work, we have identified a number of problems and we will shortly propose what we hope will be a balanced way forward.
In this, my point of departure is very clear. I am not in any way challenging the fair compensation provisions of the Directive. Where a rightsholder suffers harm as a result of the private copying exception, they should be compensated. This is very clear.
We also wonder whether consumers are getting as fair a deal as they should, and whether full account is being taken of the increased use of technological means to protected copyrighted works.
Lees de hele speech hier.
