Awaited with bated breath by stakeholders in the online industry and by IP right holders alike, the EU Commission published on 15 December its official draft for the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA is conceived as one of the central pillars for its ambition to shape Europe’s digital future. Its published draft aims high, both in the scope of topics it covers, and the depth in which it addresses them. The DSA provides a staggered set of obligations and liability rules for all intermediaries (such as internet access providers,
Category Archives: Digital Single Market (EU)
DMA – a whole new world for large platform service providers?
On 15 December The European Commission published the long awaited Digital Markets Act proposal. The Proposed Regulation imposes a series of ex ante behavioural obligations on entities that the Commission designates as ‘gatekeepers’. The obligations for those designated platforms and the potential sanctions largely resemble behavioural remedies and fines that the European Commission might otherwise seek to impose under its competition law powers. The Commission’s enforcement action is expected to be intense, with ten on-site investigations per year and an additional 80 full time staff.
DSM Watch: EU Copyright Directive clears the finish line
Today the Council of the European Union adopted the EU Copyright Directive (the “Directive”), ending a negotiation process which first started with the Commission’s proposal for a new Directive in early 2016. After publication in the Official Journal of the EU, Member States will have two years to implement the Directive. In Council the UK voted to adopt the Directive, but it’s by no means certain that the UK will implement it. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal it will not be bound to do so, nor
Hosting providers of websites are not as such data controllers and only incur limited liability, French Court of Appeal says
In a decision dated March 1st, 2019, the Paris Court of Appeal reminded that specific conditions must be met for hosting providers to be held liable in case of unlawful content. The French court also ruled that hosting providers are not data controllers per se and, as such, are not subject to obligations under the Data Protection Act. In this case, the claimant is a lawyer who alleges that a company – whose main activity is the hosting of websites and the management of advertising space – posted on two
DSM Watch: Copyright Directive press publishers’ rights: final edition of Article 11 is now Article 15
Yesterday (26 March 2019) the EU Parliament voted to pass the draft Copyright Directive into EU law. After adoption by the EU Council (representatives of Member State governments) and official publication, the EP’s adopted text will become EU law. Member States will then have until mid-2021 to implement it into their national laws. DSM Watch has already overviewed the whole Directive here, and looked at Article 13 on liability of user-uploaded content services (re-numbered Article 17 in the adopted text) here. Now we take a deeper dive into the heavily debated
DSM Watch: EU Copyright Directive passed by European Parliament
Today the EU Parliament voted to pass the draft Copyright Directive into EU law. After adoption by the EU Council (representatives of Member State governments) and official publication, it will become EU law. Member States will then have until mid-2021 to implement it into their national laws. Despite substantial opposition from blocks of MEPs and the large numbers of the general public, the final text does include the controversial press publishers’ right (Article 11) and content sharing service provider liability regime (Article 13). But that is not the whole story: the
DSM Watch: EU Copyright Directive, the big picture
Agreement on a compromise text for the new Copyright Directive was reached between Member State government representatives, EU Parliament representatives and the EU Commission last week (see our “Breakthrough” post). On 20 February 2019, EU Governments formally voted, by a majority, to approve that compromise text: Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland opposed it; Belgium and Slovenia abstained. However, it is not yet law despite some headlines which one may see in the popular press. But now that the draft text has stabilised, at least for the time being,
Global IP Outlook 2019 – Two steps forward and a look back
2018 posed new opportunities and challenges for IP-rich businesses, with major new legislation introduced in Europe to govern trademark and trade secret protection; significant and transformational case law in the U.S., and the confirmation of new planned IP-specific legislation for several jurisdictions in Asia. We’re here to help you keep abreast of these changes and understand how they impact you. Our third annual Global IP Outlook reflects on some of the major developments in intellectual property law and emerging and growing industries. Regardless of your industry or specialism the Outlook
DSM Watch: EU copyright “Value Gap” – A video guide
The European Copyright Directive seeks to strike the right balance between the remuneration received by authors and performers, and the profits made by internet platforms when they make their works accessible. This difference is known as the value gap. Our 4 minute video summary covers the following points: What is it? What’s the issue? What about liability? What’s the challenge? Why does it matter? Where do the European Council and Parliament stand on this? Next steps? Watch the summary here
New Copyright Directive: Tension rises in anticipation of European Parliament’s vote
Once again, the debate regarding the controversial DSM Copyright Directive is picking up steam. This week, the European Parliament will liaise about the various amendments that will be tabled by a number of different groups of parliamentarians from various political backgrounds. As mentioned in our previous blogs and videos, on 5 July 2018, the European Parliament rejected by 318 votes against, 278 in favour and 31 abstentions the compromise position adopted a week earlier by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). The attached negotiation mandate was thereby revoked, and the opening
The Brexit White Paper: A digital Brexit?
The UK Government’s White Paper sets out detailed proposals for the UK’s relationship with the EU following Brexit. As described in our dissection of the document as a whole, the White Paper sees the digital economy as an area of global opportunity for the UK. So what does the Government have to say about sector? The White Paper’s distinguishes physical goods from the digital and services sectors. Integrated supply chains and the challenges of the Irish border have driven an approach to physical goods which maintains a high degree of
European Parliament votes to reject controversial Copyright Directive proposal
In a dramatic turn of events, the European Parliament has today voted to reject the compromise position on the controversial draft DSM Copyright Directive, which was adopted by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) of the European Parliament on 20 June 2018. A debate on the draft Directive by the whole European Parliament is now set to take place on 10-13 September 2018. The background to today’s vote is that, as announced immediately after the JURI Committee vote on 20 June, the Committee’s decision was challenged by a group of
DSM Watch: One step closer to a European copyright reform
After a long and intense debate – including several postponements – the Committee of Legal Affairs of the European Parliament (JURI) finally agreed on its position on the draft DSM copyright directive. Of course, the plenary is still required to hand down its final vote on JURI’s report. And the trilogue amongst the three legislative institutions is also to follow. However, we are very close to the long awaited position of the Parliament which is the necessary condition for the trilogue to start. It is fair to say that the debate
Communications and competition: we’ve got the tools for the gigabit society
Since the announcement on 6 June that the Council and European Parliament had reached agreement on the draft Directive establishing the Electronic Communications Code (the “Code”), the communications and competition communities have been on tenterhooks to see what the final version of the text contains. The draft Code has been in the pipeline for almost two years and is part of the Commission’s Digital Single Market Policy. It is designed to set EU-wide common rules and objectives on how the telecoms industry should be regulated. The Commission’s aim has been
DSM Watch: Copyright Directive moves a step closer as EU Council publishes agreed draft
On 25 May 2018, after months of discussions, the EU Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) finally agreed its position on the draft Copyright Directive (see the official press release here), although it has been suggested that Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Belgium and Hungary did not support it. The agreed text (read it in full here) will serve as the mandate for the Council Presidency to negotiate with the EU Parliament, once the Parliament has agreed its own position. The EU Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) is due to
DSM Watch: EU Copyright reform – where do we stand?
Reform of EU copyright is the core of the Commission’s Digital Single Market strategy. Various legislative initiatives have been proposed but the “heart” of the reform is without a doubt the proposal for a new copyright directive. While there appears to be a growing consensus on the wording of most articles, a few key provisions remain under debate. In this article we comment on the current 23 April and 17 May 2018 draft proposals published by the Council of the EU (Member State governments’ representatives). Originally the hope had been
EU: Portability Regulation – important deadline of 2 June 2018
The Portability Regulation (EU) 2017/1128 came into force on 1 April 2018. Part of the EU Commission’s aim to establish a Digital Single Market, the Regulation facilitates cross-border portability of online content. It allows for subscribed content services to “travel” with the subscriber throughout the entire European Union. Be it movies, sport events, music, e-books, online games, they all need to remain accessible when temporarily abroad in another Member State. Service providers need to make sure this travel option is provided to their customers. Providers of free-of-charge online content services
DSM Watch – Platforms: EU Commission issues a Recommendation and a draft Regulation as the DSM approach towards ISPs takes (an irregular) shape
In a nutshell: As part of the DSM strategy, the Commission has recently published a series of new proposals impacting platforms and ISPs, including a Recommendation on tackling illegal content online and a draft Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of e-commerce platforms. In these new documents, the Commission addresses consumer protection, fair competition and notice-and-take-down obligations. We highlight the main possible changes below. Last Thursday (26 April 2018) the EU Commission issued a draft “Regulation on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation
Webinar: TV regulation in a digital age
The trialogue between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Member States on the revision of the Audio-Visual Media Services (AVMS) Directive is currently in progress, after several years of work by all parties to update the text of the Directive. This update is timely, given the profound and rapid changes in how TV and other video content is delivered and consumed throughout the EU. In this context, Analysys Mason and Hogan Lovells are publishing a white paper, “TV regulation in a digital age”, which grapples with the changes
DSM over lunch with U.S. Copyright Society
We were delighted and honoured to speak at last week’s lunch event of U.S. Copyright Society (CS USA). The Los Angeles Chapter of the CS USA kindly invited Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte (Brussels), Alberto Bellan (Milan) and myself to sit on a panel together with Susan Cleary, Vice President and General Counsel of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA). The panel discussed the new copyright law in Europe brought about by the Digital Single Market strategy that is currently implemented with the EU, and assessed the antitrust and competition issues arising in this context. Corey Field,
EU: Cross-border parcel delivery – Council approves final text of regulation
The Digital Single Market, as pushed forward with increasing speed by the European institutions, does not end with the click of a “purchase” icon. Goods ordered and bought online need to find their way to the purchaser, be it a consumer or a corporation. This is why the Commission, as part of its overall DSM strategy published a draft regulation on cross-border parcel delivery on 25 May 2016 (COM (2016) 285). The Commission’s main objectives were to Improve the market’s efficiency through effective regulatory oversight and increased competition, and Improve
DSM Watch: the new Copyright Directive – recent developments on the proposed Ancillary Right for Press Publishers
The European Parliament’s Rapporteur on the draft Copyright Directive (COM (2016) 593), Axel Voss, released proposed amendments to Article 11 and its corresponding recitals at the end of March. Mr Voss’s draft, for the shadow Rapporteurs on the Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), introduces a number of remarkable suggested changes, which diverge significantly from the Bulgarian Presidency’s compromise proposal debated by the Council’s Working Party on Intellectual Property the same day. The idea itself of an ancillary right for press publishers is being widely questioned following the setbacks experienced
European Copyright Reform: Final Vote by JURI postponed to June 2018
The copyright reform is one of the core pillars of the EU Commissions endeavor to create a real Digital Single Market within the European Union. However, despite of the first draft of the new Copyright Directive (COM (2016) 593 final) having been published some time ago (14 September 2016) the EU institutions seem to have difficulties in getting to terms with the final wording. In Brussels as well as in Strasbourg we see a multitude of differing views on how the new law shall be phrased. This week, the Committee of
Europe: New Obligations for Platform Operators – Where Do We Stand?
The reform of European Copyright law is at the heart of the European Commission’s efforts to create a true Digital Single Market. The new draft Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market (“Copyright Directive“, COM (2016) 593) dates back to 14 September 2016. Whilst with many provisions of the draft Directive the final wording has been already agreed upon, the views on how to shape Article 13 of the draft Directive, which is one of the core provisions, are still highly contradictory (see also our previous blog posts here