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New Council agreement not supported by Rapporteur Voss

 

7 February 2019

Copyright Directive Rapporteur Axel Voss reportedly does not support the latest amendments proposed in the Franco-German agreement reached last week. According to golem.de, Voss believes that the new mitigating measures for smaller platforms will effectively create a “new safe harbour’ for copyright infringement in certain situations (though apparently also acknowledges that smaller platforms should not be treated the same as larger ones). His statement coincides with a report that one of the largest right holders in Europe, Bertelsmann, has issued a letter stating that they do not support the Directive. Concluding that the Directive creates “more disadvantages than advantages”, Bertelsmann find that the newest version of the Directive is too far removed from its original intentions in turning away from the “value gap” provisions; their position instead has been to “advocate for the strengthening of right holders and creatives”. Surmising, they describe the Directive as a “missed opportunity” – apparently advocating for the more far-reaching liability provisions that were previously advanced (absent new exceptions for smaller platforms).