Abstract
The obvious starting point for a conclusion is that the EU has already dealt with copyright in an extensive way. We currently number eleven Directives and two Regulations. Some years ago, it would have been difficult to imagine that the EU would opt for Regulations unless it wanted to go down the path of a unitary right. Initially, these interventions dealt with new technological developments, such as photographs, software and databases, where it was easier to introduce new legislation compared to an already vastly regulated area. What followed were interventions to iron out existing differences in national copyright rules that risked disturbing the operation of the Single Market. Such examples are the term of protection and the artists’ resale right, which was extended to all EU Member States. A third group of interventions reflects what happened in the international arena. After the conclusion of the TRIPs Agreement there was a real need to equip rightholders and judges with efficient and streamlined tools to enforce copyright. And the WCT and the WPPT needed to be transposed into EU and national law. That was also the case with the Marrakesh Treaty. The fourth group of interventions dealt with on the one hand the need to deal with transparency and accountability in the field of collective management (a field with a number of worrying symptoms in various Member States during a number of years) and the need to attain the Digital Single Market, i.e., to modernize copyright rules.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | EU Copyright Law |
Subtitle of host publication | A Commentary |
Publisher | Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. |
Pages | 1118-1121 |
Number of pages | 4 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781786437808 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781786437792 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2021 |