Media Coverage: European Voice Special Report on Copyright

COVERAGE REPORT European Voice Copyright Special Report, 20 November 2014

European Voice business journalist Nicholas Hirst, with whom g+ has been in regular contact over the past six months, was responsible for the special report. While Hirst mentions obstacles to getting cross-border access to content, the coverage is positive in that CW!’s views, messaging and members are extensively reported in the articles. This includes a mention of the OHIM report’s main finings (copyright intensive sectors accounting for 4.2% of EU’s GDP), a reference to how “vibrant” legal offer is and to the fact that there is low demand for cross border services. Overall, the coverage is balanced as the “two sides to the story” are presented. Please find the highlights over the next few pages.

Quotations reflecting CW! informal briefings

- “The importance of the creative industries transcends culture: there are serious economic interests at stake. The creative industries in Europe are a major employer and exporter, as well as a powerful lever of soft power.” p.13
-  “European culture is also a major export and an important aspect of Europe’s power in the world.” p.14
- “Copyright law is not just about remunerating artists and authors (see page 18). It is big business in the European economy. As a sector, copyright-intensive industries represent 4.2% of the EU’s gross domestic product – some €549 billion annually (the EU’s GDP is €13,069bn) – according to a 2013 report published by the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM).” p.14
-  “...the copyright sector generates a trade surplus: that is to say, Europe sells more copyrighted items to the wider world than it buys, meaning that the EU’s copyrighted material is not only a good advertisement for the continent, it is also good business.” p.14
- “many groups of rights-holders say that they provide plenty of pan-European licences. If streaming services are not prepared to pay the asking price, they argue, it is because there is not enough demand for their services” p.16 Mentions of CW! Members
- “IMPALA, the independent music companies’ association, estimated that more than 30 million tracks are available in every EU country.” p.16
- “The Centre of the Picture Industry (CEPIC) estimates that “85% of pictures found online by visual search systems are unlawful copies, and 80% of those illegal images have been spread through search engines such as Google Images” p.16
- “Chris Marcich, president and managing director of the Motion Pictures Association for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, argues that by and large the EU’s enforcement regime works. But, he says, it is implemented unevenly. Rights-owners find enforcement difficult in Spain, he explains, whereas French and British judges are more robust in granting injunctions under EU law.” p.16

Clippings Copyrights and Wrongs
European Voice, 20 November 2014, p. 13,
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/copyrights-and-wrongs/



Cultural Protection
European Voice, 20 November 2014, p. 14
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/who-are-copyright-holders/



A cross-border conundrum
European Voice, 20 November 2014, p. 16-17,
http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/copyright-a-cross-border-conundrum/



Creativity Works! ‘manifesto’
European Voice, 20 November 2014, p. 16,
http://www.europeanvoice.com/featured-content/creativity-works/

Πηγή: europeanvoice.com