Yesterday, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted on the Report on the Copyright Directive by MEP Julia Reda. It was adopted with a broad majority: 23 votes in favour, only 2 against (Front National) and no abstention.

The members of the Committee had to vote not only on the draft report itself but also on over 550 amendments submitted by other MEPs and the compromise amendments that MEPs agreed on across political groups. 

Luckily, amendment 204, tabled by MEP Angelika Niebler (EPP), got rejected. It said:

3g. Notes that the current legal
framework provides for neighbouring
rights for performers, phonogram
producers, film producers and
broadcasting companies, but not for press
publishers; calls on the Commission,
therefore, to analyse whether
neighbouring rights for press publishers
can provide appropriate protection and
remuneration for their work in a digital
media world;

By rejecting this amendment, the Committee was united on a cross-party basis that an ancillary copyright for press publishers is not necessary as it would only harm the freedom of information and prevent innovation. Julia Reda commented:

It is encouraging that the committee wants to avoid making the mistakes of the German and Spanish ancillary copyright laws (news snippets) that have had a devastating effect on the freedom to link.

We highly appreciate this outcome and would like to thank Julia Reda for her great and hard work. But the fight is not over yet. On 9th July 2015, all members of the European Parliament will finally vote on the report. "I will continue to fight to defeat the worst ideas that slipped into the report, and demanding that the good ones be implemented. I’m counting on your support!", Reda said. You can count on us.

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