Green light to adoption of new EU directive on collective management of copyright and multi-territorial licensing of online music

Celebrating a new age of easier
cross-border licensing?
Yes, but remember:
just for online music

Katfriend Sebastian Felix Schwemer (University of Copenhagen) [what a most lovely city that is!] has just emailed the Kats to let them and readers know that yesterday the Council formally adopted a new EU directive "on collective management of copyright related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market" [background Katposts here and here]. 

Yesterday's adoption followed a vote in the European Parliament on 4 February last [here].

As the Council recalled in its press release, this new directive pursues two complementary objectives:

• To increase transparency and efficiency in the functioning of copyright collective management organisations, and



A depiction of
"I do believe in split infinitives"
unavoidable sense of guilt

• To facilitate the granting of cross-border licensing of authors’ rights in online music.

In particular, it is believed that the latter will allow consumers to enjoy a much wider choice to download music or to listen to it in streaming mode, while also encouraging the development of new models of music access. The development of legal online music services across the EU will also contribute "to better fight [a split infinitive? Remember: Whenever someone says "I do believe in split infinitives" there's a little English grammar devotee somewhere that falls right down dead] against online infringements of copyright."

Member states will have to incorporate the new provisions into domestic law 24 months after the entry into force of the Directive at the latest. When this will be, wonders Merpel? It will be on the twentieth day following publication of the directive in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

A more detailed analysis of this new directive will follow shortly on The 1709 Blog, so: watch that space!