On 10 July, the Commission launched a “roadmap” consultation as part of its initiative to prepare an intellectual property action plan. This action plan will set out the Commission’s vision on the role of intellectual property and propose concrete initiatives to improve the IP framework and the way it is used in practice.
AEPO-ARTIS has submitted a detailed response, addressing those aspects of the consultation that are of relevance to performers.
The roadmap invited comments on shortcomings in the existing IP framework. This enabled AEPO-ARTIS to highlight the importance of the correct implementation of article 18 of the 2019 Copyright Directive (dealing with “appropriate and proportionate remuneration”) and restate its claim for an unwaivable right to remuneration subject to compulsory collective management in respect of on demand uses. It also provided the opportunity to point out that the benefits which may have been intended to reach performers by the introduction of article 17 dealing with the value gap will not in practice filter down to them.
In response to the Commission’s stated aim to “improve the quality and consistency of the IP framework”, AEPO-ARTIS was able to highlight the inequality and unfairness of the rights of performers in the audiovisual sector, compared to those in the audio sector.
The Commission referred to its intention to explore ways to: “promote better licensing and sharing of IP-protected assets”, particularly with regard to “an efficient use of high-quality rights-management metadata in the copyright market”. AEPO-ARTIS took this opportunity to highlight the fact that the rules applicable to collective management in the EU set up by Directive 2014/26 failed to ensure satisfactory access to the necessary data (held by producers) for collective management purposes.
In addition, AEPO-ARTIS raised the issue of the difficulties faced by performers arising from the COVID 19 pandemic.
The response in full is available here: AEPO-ARTIS Contribution to Commission Consultation on an IP Roadmap
