Copyright Directive vote – A missed opportunity to overcome in the next Plenary
The creators community is disappointed but trust a sound decision will finally prevail
05/07/2018 – Today in Strasbourg, the European Parliament voted on the long-discussed Copyright Directive and rejected the JURI mandate with a tight majority. The European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) sees this as a missed opportunity to fix the current unfairness in the digital market once and for all, despite almost 2 years of thorough discussions and overwhelming evidence presented. Europe’s creators nevertheless remain mobilised and hope that the European Parliament will eventually reach a positive solution in plenary based on facts and common sense.
Anders Lassen, GESAC President said “This vote was never about censorship or freedom of speech. It was only about updating the copyright rules to the 21st century and ensuring that creators get a fair remuneration when their works are used in the digital space. The legal services of the EU institutions and specialised agencies in the EU have given evidence to support the compliance and necessity of the rules proposed by the text, yet unfortunately manipulative campaigns orchestrated by tech giants based on scaremongering prevailed on this occasion. We are confident that the European Parliament will finally approve what is right for the future of the EU’s economy, competitiveness and fundamental values against these global forces”.
Véronique Desbrosses, GESAC General Manager added, “We represent the voices of Europe’s creators and will never stop fighting until they get the fairness and the rights they deserve, to enable them to continue expressing themselves freely. We are immensely grateful to all the MEPs who have supported us and hope that the others will come to understand our point of view.”
About GESAC
GESAC groups 31 of the largest authors’ societies in the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. We defend and promote the rights of about 1 million creators and rights holders in the areas of music, audiovisual works, visual arts, and literary and dramatic works.