INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY : PRO-COPYRIGHT VOTE AGAINST BACKDROP OF MUSIC INDUSTRY CONCERNS.

Predictably, but by an overwhelming majority, the European Parliament approved, on 4 February, what will remain the major recent legislative initiative on copyright in the EU: a directive on collective management of copyright. At the same time, though, the music industry, meeting at the Midem trade show in Cannes, France, voiced concerns about "the extremely anti-copyright trend in Europe".

The text adopted by MEPs (640 to 18, with 22 abstentions) was already the subject of an agreement with the member states in November. For French rapporteur Marielle Gallo (EPP), this support "proves that, contrary to what is usually thought, all political groups recognise that copyright can be easily adapted to the internet and has an essential role to play in the digital economy".

The draft directive, which will soon be confirmed by the Council, imposes more transparency on collective rights management organisations. It gives rights holders, for example, the possibility to be more involved in the internal decision making of these organisations, often accused of opacity. It also aims to multiply pan-European licences for online music and to reduce transaction costs for users on sites like Spotify or Apple. The goal is to see European music platforms emerge and to widen the internet public.

CONTROVERSIAL CONSULTATION

For Nicolas Galibert, vice-president of the International Confederation of Music Publishers, "a tsunami is coming" on other aspects of copyright. He based his comments on the content of a consultation launched by the Commission on 5 December (prolonged by...