CISAC welcomes EU moves

CISAC has welcomed a joint statement from ministers in Germany and France, which, says the copyright body, "signals the elevation of creators' rights to the top of Europe's policy agenda and recognises creators as drivers of economic growth".

CISAC says that the statement from Germany's Federal Minister For Justice And Consumer Protection Heiko Maas and France's Minister For Culture And Communication Fleur Pellerin backs its position that protecting the rights of authors should be an integral part of the 'digital single market'. CISAC said: "France and Germany's joint position has further emphasised that the modernisation of authors' rights/copyright in Europe should be examined within the wider context of the digital single market package, in which establishing fair rules and fair regulations for all stakeholders should be a priority. This stresses the two countries' intention to bring their legislative success in the analogue world to the digital context".

CISAC's Director General Gadi Oron added: "Our 230 member societies around the world represent nearly four million creators who depend on effective protection for their works. The European territory is the largest market for royalty collections, accounting for 61% of the overall collections internationally. This figure not only shows the importance of the European market for creators, but also demonstrates the significant economic and cultural role played by creators" saying "It is vital to ensure that Europe continues to serve as a model for norm setting on authors' rights/copyright. Clear legislative commitments on the protection of creators' rights in Europe would go a long way in helping to strengthen the position of creators in other regions".

More than twenty prominent European filmmakers including Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Wim Wenders (“Every Thing Will Be Fine”), Paolo Sorrentino (“La Grande Bellezza”), Ken Loach (“Jimmy’s Hall”) and Abderrahmane Sissako (“Timbuktu”) have rallied to "protect copyright laws" in the EU add ad their voice to move to reform copyright law across Europe - in particular rallying against proposed moves to remove traditional national exclusivity for film and TV licensing (and geo-blocking) and  allow audiovisual and film works to circulate freely across Europe using pan-European licenses. Saying the moves would undermine the way films are financed, The film makers argue that the E.U.’s proposal would harm right-holders, and solely benefit multi territory platforms like Netflix and Google saying "“We share the European Commission’s will to facilitate film availability to all… but let’s not go about it in a way that could be destructive for cinema.” The directors’ alternative proposals included bolstering existing support for Europe’s exhibition circuit,   and a new charter for the EU’s public broadcasters to aid the diffusion of more European films throughout the region. More on Screen Daily here and here.