Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-09-13-Speech-4-025-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120913.7.4-025-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, an enormous number of works stored in European archives and libraries cannot be made available because the authorship of these works cannot be established or it is not possible to reach copyright holders, which is necessary in order for them to give their consent for the works to be made available. Works that are locked away in this manner often constitute up to 45% of the entire collections of these institutions. Cultural heritage should be useful to society and not just be imprisoned by copyright. This issue affects all kinds of publications: books, newspapers, photographs, radio and TV recordings. Speaking as a person who has worked for many years in the cultural sphere, it is important for me for this problem to be resolved on a legislative level throughout the European Union in order to return these forgotten works to society by digitising them.
I am pleased that in March of this year, the Committee on Legal Affairs adopted my report on the use of orphan works. It states that, if extensive investigations show that identifying the author or the copyright holder of a work is not possible, the work can achieve ‘orphan’ status. This means it will be possible to make the work publicly available on a non-commercial basis, which means without making a profit. It will also be possible to store and restore works digitally. In addition, a work that has been deemed to be an orphan in one country will automatically gain ‘orphan’ status in others. If, however, the author or copyright holder comes forward, then they can request appropriate compensation if they can show that they incurred real losses by their work being made available in this way. In my opinion, this is an excellent example of the fact that relaxing rather than strengthening copyright law could be beneficial for all parties. During my work as a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs, I have conducted negotiations on this issue, first of all with the Council under the Polish Presidency, then under the Danish Presidency, and today my report will be put to the vote in plenary, which will mean the realisation of one of the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency.
The creation of a derogation to the law on intellectual property in order to make cultural heritage available through public institutions for educational purposes and in order to disseminate culture will open a new chapter in intellectual property law. This is a particularly important directive, since it is the first to establish a legislative basis in a new and so far unregulated area of law. As a result, the beneficiaries, who so far have avoided digitisation out of concerns about any court cases for huge amounts of compensation if an author should come forward, can now breathe easily. Compensation worked out by way of a compromise will ensure legal certainty in this matter.
Works that have many owners, that is, so-called ‘partial orphan works’, can also be digitised and made available to a wide range of users. Libraries, archives and museums have long been waiting for clear regulations that would allow them to make available treasures that have been hidden away for years and to prevent them from being forgotten or even destroyed. The digitisation which, thanks to this directive, will finally be possible, solves this problem. However, what is most important, and this I count as one of the greatest successes in our negotiations, is that thanks to the new Article 6(2), public institutions will have a real opportunity to generate income from the use of orphan works, which will supplement the small sums allocated for the digitisation process.
Commercial use of works is given a precise definition in the text and is linked to the issue of compensation for the author if the author should appear. As regards this issue, too, I believe that we were able to reach a balanced compromise between protecting copyright and the possibility of a derogation for the use of orphan works. What is more, we put in a provision in the review clause stating that, a year after the directive comes into force, the European Commission should consider its effects and introduce any changes or improvements that are required and, if necessary, also introduce a wider range of beneficiaries to include, for example, private institutions.
The negotiations were difficult. We did not always agree on all the issues but I am pleased with the final compromise solutions and am convinced that this directive will be a useful and effective tool to make cultural artefacts that have been hidden away available to a larger number of users. I would like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs as well as the European Commission and the Council for the fruitful negotiations."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples