Copyright in Europe: changes to March - April

Copyright in Europe: The European Parliament and the European Council have agreed on the final text of the EU Copyright Directive. The bill also includes the controversial Article 13, which can lead to "filtering" of the internet.

The full text of the bill will be submitted to the European Parliament for the final vote, which is due to take place in March or April.

So, according to the above, the future of online copyright is expected to change definitively after the agreement reached on the relevant Copyright Directive.

For those who do not know, the framework of the agreement states that all major online platforms should negotiate licensing agreements with copyright owners to republish their projects. Every page with content (see YouTube) should be checked to ensure that there are no copyright violations.

The above bill aims to ensure a fee for content producers on the internet. Of course there are too many which are opposed to the forthcoming bill, saying that this process will greatly restrict freedom of expression on the internet.

The "stones" of the scandal in the upcoming Copyright bill are Articles 11 and 13.

Article 13 requires online platforms to use filters to track (and block) the content posted by users to ensure that there are no copyright violations.

Article 11, on the other hand, requires online platforms that publish newsletters, and news articles (such as Google News) contracts with the producers of the content they publish for the purpose of their payment.

The bill will have to be officially ratified by the European Parliament and the EU. Its consideration by the Council of Ministers is due to take place next week and the final vote in plenary is expected to take place in the last week of March or mid-April . After the Bill is passed, all EU Member States will have a 24 month deadline to incorporate the new regulations into their national legislation.