EU Copyright Review Divisive; French MEP Says UN Expert Lacks Balance

The UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed, yesterday gave a presentation to the Legal Committee of the European Parliament, which currently is reviewing the EU Copyright Directive.

Shaheed summarised core results of a report on the “impact of intellectual property regimes on the enjoyment of right to science and culture” underlining the potential of tight copyright regimes to violate the right of access to science and participation in cultural life.

“The conclusions of Ms Shaheed that creators can be best protected by fair contracts and strengthened copyright limitations and that access to science and culture are of paramount importance, are a challenge of substantial parts of actual EU Copyright,” Julia Reda, Pirate Party/Green Party Group member in the EP wrote in answer to questions from Intellectual Property Watch.

Shaheed’s report originally was prepared for the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March, and was met with some angst by proponents of strict copyright protection in the Parliament.

A request by French Member of Parliament Jean-Marie Cavada (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats) to invite other experts to give “counter-arguments” to Shaheed’s position had resulted in a delay of the hearing, Reda told Intellectual Property Watch. Because of the delay, the UN Special Rapporteur had to make her statement after leaving Europe for Pakistan and the intended exchange in the end was cut short by a bad internet connection.

Reda, who is preparing a report on the review of the Copyright Directive, had recommended to invite Shaheed and expressed her regrets about the missed opportunity for the exchange with the UN special rapporteur.

The Pirate Party member is currently working through more than 550 amendments to her Copyright review report and warned during the recent RePublica Conference in Berlin that some amendments were quite far-reaching towards stricter protection. Amendments, including those by Cavada and several French colleagues for example, support stepping up the financial and legal responsibility of intermediaries. Reda also warned against an appetite for making hyperlinks potential copyright violations.

The vote on Reda’s report is due on 16 June and in the Legal Committee, the plenary is expected to vote in July, according to the timetable.