Laut einer Studie des US-Verlegerverbands News Media Alliance habe Google allein im Jahr 2018 einen Umsatz von 4,7 Milliarden US-Dollar mit Verlagsinhalten erwirtschaftet, ohne dafür zu zahlen. Das solle sich in Zukunft ändern. Weiter

The controversial EU directive on copyright reform has been adopted. On April 15, 2019, the majority of EU member states voted in favour of the directive. Germany additionally submitted a protocol declaration.

Voting result no surprise

As expected, Finland, Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden refused to give their agreement. So only 19 EU states voted for the directive, as representatives from Belgium, Estonia and Slovenia abstained.

In the run-up to the vote, there was a short-term hope that Germany would also abstain. In this case, the directive would not have been adopted, as the approving Member States would have to account for at least 65% of the EU population. This quorum would not have been achieved without Germany's agreement. Reason for hope was given by the coalition agreement between the German governing parties CDU/CSU and SPD in which they clearly reject upload filters. But this is precisely what Article 17 of the Directive (formerly Article 13) provides for.

Germany wants to avoid upload filters

In the end, however, the German government decided to vote in favour of the directive and only to make a so-called protocol declaration. In this declaration, it expresses "serious concerns" regarding the use of upload filters and thus proclaims:

The aim must be to make the instrument of "upload filters" largely unnecessary.

Among other things, the government therefore wants to ensure at national level "that services such as Wikipedia, university repositories, blogs and forums, software platforms such as Github, special interest offers without reference to the creative industry, messenger services such as WhatsApp, sales portals or cloud services do not belong to platforms within the meaning of Article 17". For these services, therefore, nothing is supposed to change.

However, the legal significance of the protocol declaration is controversial. Some people regard it only as symbolic. But in December 2016, the Scientific Service of the German Parliament (Bundestag) had determined in an assessment that protocol declarations by Member States could possibly influence the interpretation of the Directive.

The ECJ has not ruled on this issue. Yet. Because if the Federal Government is serious about its declaration, infringement proceedings against Germany by the EU Commission can be expected.

Time for implementation

But it will be some time before then. Now all EU member states have two years to transpose the requirements of the directive into their national law. They will either have to create new rules or adapt existing rules if necessary.

Publishers' law will do even more damage

Article 15 of the Directive (formerly Article 11) provides for the introduction of an ancillary copyright for press publishers. As is well known, such a right has existed in Germany since 2013. However, the requirements of the Directive go far beyond the existing German regulation so that its scope of application has to be massively extended.

While currently only commercial providers of search engines or services that prepare content accordingly are affected, all "information society service providers" will be affected in future. The completely unclear exception for the "private or non-commercial uses of press publications by individual users" will not help here. An already terrible law will be even more terrible and will cause more damage to the press landscape than it already has.

Die umstrittene EU-Richtlinie zur Reform des Urheberrechts ist beschlossen worden. Am 15. April 2019 stimmten die EU-Mitgliedsstaaten mehrheitlich dafür. Deutschland gab zusätzlich eine Protokollerklärung ab. Weiter

Das Europäische Parlament hat der neuen Richtlinie zum Urheberrecht zugestimmt und am kommenden Montag wird der Europäische Rat es ihm wohl gleichtun. Trotzdem setzt Mathias Döpfner, Vorstandschef des Axel-Springer-Verlags, seine Lügenkampagne unverändert fort. Weiter

Today, the Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the copyright reform – including the obligation for upload filters and an ancillary copyright for press publishers.

A matter of a few seconds

The vote took place shortly after 1 p.m. and was over sooner than we had hoped. By a wafer-thin majority of only five votes MEPs first decided not to accept any amendments. The deletion of Article 13 (upload filters) and/or Article 11 (ancillary copyright for press publishers) was therefore not put to a vote.

Subsequently, the compromise proposal drawn up in the trilogue negotiations was adopted by a clear majority: 348 votes in favour, 274 against, 36 abstentions. A frightening result. The greatest support for the project came from the EPP and S&D ranks.

Among the German MEPs, all but one of the CDU/CSU members present voted yes. Looking at the SPD, the picture is quite different. Apart from two abstentions and one vote in favour, the proposal was consistently rejected. And the other German representatives were also predominantly against this reform.

Last debate in plenary

In the morning, the MEPs had had a heated debate in the EU Parliament. It showed once again how unteachable the supporters of the reform are when it comes to scientific advice and what kind of incompetence we are dealing with here.

A disgusting thing to see was how MEP Julia Reda (Greens/EFA) was treated. She was the only one to be disturbed several times during her speech by loud and persistent interjections which forced Vice-President Mairead McGuinness (EPP) to intervene. Following this, Julia Reda was subjected to the childishly angry cries of MEP Daniel Caspary (EVP) and MEP Jacens Rohde (ALDE), to which she reacted with impressive calm and professionalism. It is a painful loss that she will not to stand for re-election and therefore not be a member of the next Parliament.

Just one last step

In order for the Directive to enter into force and for EU Member States to transpose it into their national law, it still needs to be approved by the European Council. This is thus the very last chance to prevent this madness. The vote is expected to take place on 9 April.

At the moment, it cannot be assumed that the German Federal Government will put in a veto. The reason for this assumption is a horse-trading that took place according to the FAZ: Germany agrees with the directive while France has agreed to concessions in the dispute over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

The German Federal Government must not get away with this. At least 12 spontaneous demonstrations have already been announced for today alone in Germany. The protest must not fade away but must become even stronger.

Heute haben die Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments für die Urheberrechtsreform gestimmt – inklusive der Pflicht zu Upload-Filtern und einem Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger. Weiter

Es scheint, als wäre der Protest der vergangenen Wochen doch nicht unbemerkt an der CDU vorbeigezogen. Zu den richtigen Schlüssen ist man gleichwohl nicht gekommen. Denn anstatt sich für eine Überarbeitung der geplanten Urheberrechtsrichtlinie einzusetzen, versucht man die Gemüter mit einem deutschen Alleingang zu beruhigen. Ein leicht durchschaubares Manöver. Weiter

The way is clear for the final vote of the European Parliament on the copyright reform. On 27 February, a majority of its Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) voted in favour of the negotiated compromise. However, EU citizens' criticism of the plan is growing louder and louder - just before the European elections. Weiter

Der Weg für die finale Abstimmung des Europäischen Parlaments über die Urheberrechtsreform ist frei. Am 27. Februar hat dessen Rechtsausschuss (JURI) mehrheitlich für den ausgehandelten Kompromiss gestimmt. Die Kritik am Vorhaben seitens der EU-Bürgerinngen und EU-Bürger wird allerdings immer lauter – und das kurz vor der Europawahl. Weiter

On Wednesday, government representatives of the EU member states approved the compromise on the Copyright Directive in the Council of Ministers. The reform has thus taken another hurdle. But the big showdown is still to come. Weiter

Regierungsvertreter der EU-Mitgliedstaaten haben am vergangenen Mittwoch im Ministerrat dem Kompromiss zur Urheberrechtsrichtlinie zugestimmt. Damit hat die Reform eine weitere Hürde genommen. Der große Showdown steht aber noch bevor. Weiter

Last night, the trilogue negotiations on the proposed EU copyright reform were concluded. One result of these negotiations is an ancillary copyright for press publishers which is very similar to the German regulation but will cause even greater damage. This can still be prevented! Weiter

Gestern Nacht wurden die Trilog-Verhandlungen zur geplanten EU-Urheberrechtsreform abgeschlossen. Herausgekommen ist dabei unter anderem ein Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger, das große Ähnlichkeit zur deutschen Regelung hat, aber noch größeren Schaden anrichten wird. Noch kann dies verhindert werden! Weiter

Today, the final report of the so-called Cairncross review was published. It thoroughly looks at how to sustain the production and distribution of high-quality journalism in the UK. In doing so, some interesting points regarding an ancillary copyright for press publishers are raised. Weiter

The Romanian Council Presidency still tries to reach a compromise with the Member States on the planned directive on copyright reform. Meanwhile, more and more influential rightholders are now denying their support, putting additional pressure on politicians. Weiter

Die rumänische Ratspräsidentschaft versucht weiterhin, sich mit den Mitgliedstaaten auf einen Kompromiss für die geplante Richtlinie zur Reform des Urheberrechts zu einigen. Währenddessen versagen immer mehr einflussreiche Rechteinhaber ihre Unterstützung und üben damit zusätzlichen Druck auf die Politik aus. Weiter

The trilogue negotiations on the upcoming copyright Directive are still stuck. EDRi has taken this opportunity to send out an open letter to the negotiators that not only we but also numerous international and Europe-based organisations have co-signed. Weiter

Representatives of the Member States in the European Council have not yet managed to reach a compromise. The trilogue negotiations are therefore continuing to drag on indefinitely. That gives cause for hope. Weiter

Vertreter der Mitgliedstaaten im Europäischen Rat haben es bisher nicht geschafft, sich auf einen Kompromiss zu einigen. Die Trilog-Verhandlungen ziehen sich damit auf unbestimmte Zeit weiter in die Länge. Das gibt Grund zur Hoffnung. Weiter

Originally, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council wanted to finalise the text of the planned Copyright Directive by the end of 2018. However, this goal was clearly missed so that negotiations were resumed last week. Weiter

Eigentlich wollten die Europäische Kommission, das Europäische Parlament und der Europäische Rat den Text der geplanten Urheberrechtsrichtlinie noch 2018 finalisieren. Dieses Ziel wurde jedoch deutlich verfehlt, sodass die Verhandlungen vergangene Woche wieder aufgenommen wurden. Weiter

The many years of discussion and numerous court proceedings concerning the German ancillary copyright law for press publishers are likely to come to an abrupt end shortly. In his opinion, the Advocate General at the European Court of Justice declared the relevant provisions inapplicable. Weiter

The last trilogue negotiations for this year between representatives of European Parliament, European Commission and European Council took place last week. Again, an overall agreement could not be reached. Weiter

Die langjährigen Diskussion und zahlreichen Gerichtsverfahren, die um das deutsche Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger geführt werden, dürften in Kürze ein jähes Ende finden. Der Generalanwalt beim Europäischen Gerichtshof hat in seiner Stellungnahme die entsprechenden Vorschriften für unanwendbar erklärt. Weiter

The European Commission, Council and Parliament are still negotiating the exact wording of an ancillary copyright for press publishers that will most likely be part of the upcoming EU Directive on copyright. If you have not yet heard about this new right or only a little and if you want to learn more about it, then Pamela Samuelson, who is the Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law at Berkeley Law School, has just written the perfect article for you. Weiter

Representatives of the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament are currently negotiating a compromise solution for the new Copyright Directive. Unfortunately, it can be assumed to be certain that this Directive will contain an ancillary copyright for press publishers. However, the exact wording is not final yet. The devil is in the detail as the Parliament's proposal shows. Weiter

In der aktuellen Ausgabe des "Wirtschaftsdienst" resümiert Dr. Till Kreutzer, wie sich die EU-Politik in Sachen Leistungsschutzrecht vor den postfaktischen Lobbyzug der Presseverlage hat spannen lassen: mit Gefühlen und Lügen für ein neues Recht, das nach eigener Aussage Qualitätsjournalismus sichern und damit Fake News bekämpfen soll.

Today, the European Parliament held its second vote on copyright in the digital single market and it took the worst possible outcome. Amendments to delete article 11 altogether or to alter it into a rule of legal presumption were rejected by a large majority. Instead, MEP Axel Voss's latest proposal for an ancillary copyright for press publishers was adopted. The same goes for his proposal that aims to introduce upload filters in the EU. Weiter

Heute hat das Europäische Parlament seine zweite Abstimmung über das Urheberrecht im digitalen Binnenmarkt abgehalten. Dabei ist das denkbar schlechteste Ergebnis herausgekommen. Änderungsanträge, Artikel 11 insgesamt zu streichen oder in eine Vermutungsregel umzuwandeln, wurden mit großer Mehrheit abgelehnt. Stattdessen wurde der jüngste Vorschlag von MdEP Axel Voss (EVP, Deutschland) für ein Leistungsschutzrecht für Presseverleger angenommen. Gleiches gilt für seinen Vorschlag zur Einführung von Upload-Filtern in der EU. Weiter

Although summer break has just ended, the next important vote at EU level is already coming up. Members of the European Parliament must agree on a common position on the proposed copyright reform. A key role here is played by MEP Axel Voss (EPP, Germany), rapporteur on the JURI Committee, who despite all criticism is unwilling to back away from his proposal. Weiter