Victory for the Europe of culture
Paris, 26 March 2019 : The European Parliament has just adopted the draft directive on authors’ rights, after two and a half years of intense negotiations between the European Parliament, the Commission, and the Member States.
Through this historic vote, a message was sent by Europe to the world, in favour of culture, creation, authors, artists and journalists, and their right to fair remuneration in the digital world.
This vote was an act of European sovereignty and a victory for democracy, because it was possible despite one of the most violent campaigns of lobbying and disinformation in the history of the European Union, on the part of those who wanted at all costs to avoid adopting a balanced text.
The Copyright Directive is favourable to innovation and beneficial to the future of the Internet, and finally creates the conditions for a fairer situation, in the digital world, for creators, artists and journalists, whose rights it strengthens. The text is a success for the free and open Internet since the more equitable regulation set out in Article 13 only concerns the major commercial content sharing platforms. Non-profit platforms, such as Wikipedia, marketplaces, open source platforms and Internet service providers or cloud services, will not be affected.
The text creates a general exception for start-ups, whose growth will be promoted by clarifying their situation for the use of content protected by authors’ rights. It reinforces the protection of Internet users by explicitly prohibiting any general monitoring. It protects memes and gifs, guaranteeing authors’ rights exceptions such as citations, reviews, caricatures, parodies, etc.
This magnificent success would not have been possible without the exceptional work done by many Members of the European Parliament and, in particular, Pervenche Berès, Jean-Marie Cavada, Sylvia Costa, Christian Ehler, Marc Joulaud, Sylvie Guillaume, Virginie Rozière, Helga Trüpel and Axel Voss, whom Sacem wishes to salute.
Sacem would like to warmly thank the European Commission for its commitment throughout the negotiations, especially Vice President Andrus Ansip and Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.
Sacem wishes to express its gratitude to the French authorities for their unwavering commitment in this battle. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has personally committed himself with strength and determination in this fight for culture. The Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, as well as his predecessor, Françoise Nyssen, the Minister of European Affairs, Nathalie Loiseau, and all government teams, as well as the diplomatic network and the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union.
The mobilisation of authors, composers, music publishers, their professional organisations, all the artists involved in the CreatorsForEurope campaign, all the journalists, and all the professional cultural organisations, was crucial.
Jean-Noël Tronc, CEO of Sacem, which has been for months at the heart of the European campaign, said "The European directive on authors’ rights is the first stone to rebuild the digital and cultural sovereignty of Europe. It is the result of a common fight of all the forces of culture, whose alliance provided the strength!".
Jean-Marie Moreau, Chairman of the Board, said "Thank you to all the authors, composers, music publishers who have tirelessly rallied with us and all their professional organisations for this great mobilisation that has borne fruit. Sacem is proud to have been at the forefront of a vital struggle for culture."