EU Copyright Directive Clears Lead Parliamentary Committee

Modifications to EU copyright law moved forward Tuesday as the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee approved a compromise hammered out in "trilogue" talks among the EU, Council and Parliament. The deal, reached Feb. 13 (see 1902130059), now needs approval from the full parliament, expected to vote in March or April. The fierce lobbying provoked by several provisions -- Article 11, which creates a new right for news publishers, and Article 13, adding copyright-policing responsibilities on content-sharing platforms -- continued after the committee vote. “The text, as agreed in Trilogue, would modernise copyright with a proportionate approach that does not stifle digital innovation,” said the European Newspaper Publishers’ Association, European Magazine Media Association, European Publishers’ Council and News Media Europe. They pressed EU lawmakers to "vote in support of Europe's vital cultural and media landscape." The copyright system was established "in the infancy of the internet" when platforms could exploit content created and produced by others without permission or payment, said the Federation of European Publishers: To perpetuate that system would be unfair. European Digital Rights relaunched SaveYourInternet.eu, which it said has become "the main platform for concerned citizens who want to contact EU policy makers about the proposed implementation of upload filters." It urged Europeans to "consider parliamentarians' stance on Article 13 when voting for the European Parliament election in May." It's unclear "whether further lobbying of [European Parliament members] results in any of the controversial provisions being excised" at the final plenary stage, emailed Hogan Lovells (London) IP attorney Alastair Shaw.