Council Of Europe Report On Copyright Exceptions And Limitations

The intergovernmental Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, has published a freely available report on exceptions and limitations to copyright. The report comes as a contribution to the ongoing process of reforming European copyright rules.

The press release states: “The European Audiovisual Observatory, part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has published its latest IRIS Plus report: Exceptions and limitations to copyright, free to download here. This is a truly invaluable roadmap through the often complex landscape of exceptions and limitations to copyright in Europe.” The Council of Europe includes European Union members but is larger than the EU.

Below are summaries of the report chapters, according to the release:

Chapter one – background on the origins of copyright

Chapter two – context of the international and European legal framework

Chapter three – national legal frameworks

Chapter four – self and co-regulation concerning copyright

Chapter five – the most pertinent recent case law in the copyright field

Chapter six – state of play regarding current EU copyright exceptions in the bigger picture of the Digital Single Market initiative launched by the European Commission in 2015

On this last subject, the release says:

“The final proposed ‘Copyright Package’ was presented by the European Commission in 2016 and it includes three new mandatory exceptions. The first of these allows the use of copyrighted material for the purpose of education, provided that the use is non-commercial, takes place through a secure electronic network and gives an indication of the source. The second exception allows reproduction in the interest of the preservation of cultural heritage (by, for example, accessible libraries, museums or archives). Text and data mining represent the third exception, so that the EU’s competitiveness and scientific leadership may be bolstered by the right to copy and analyse data sets and texts normally subject to copyright protection under certain conditions. A fourth exception was added, in implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty, which allows the creation of accessible format copies for people with print disabilities.”

And according to the release, “The report concludes that the proposed Copyright directive and the Marrakesh exception are currently being analysed by the European Parliament and the European Council. As yet no final date of adoption has been announced.”