European Parliament approves copyright reforms
The European Parliament has approved a draft report that seeks to modernise existing copyright laws across the EU.
The proposed reforms include an exception allowing libraries and public institutions to digitally reproduce copyright protected works for their members. They also suggest enabling people to privately copy protected works without requiring permission from the right owner.
However, two proposals were rejected; one that would restrict the freedom of panorama and one that would introduce a 'snippet tax' for newspaper publishers.
Freedom of panorama enables individuals to use pictures of buildings commercially without requiring permission from the designer of the building. The 'snippet tax' would have given publishers the right to charge people who provide a hyperlink to their content.
Both proposals were added to the report after the parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs approved a draft version last month.
The latest report was approved by the full parliament on Thursday, July 9.
Julia Reda , a member of the Pirate Party and responsible for putting the report together, welcomed the rejection of the panorama amendment.
“The plenary decisively removed the controversial proposal to restrict the so-called freedom of panorama.
“As a result, most Europeans will continue to be able to post selfies online and view photos of famous buildings on Wikipedia unencumbered by copyright," she said.
Now that the parliament has approved the draft report it is now the task of the European Commission to introduce new legislation.
The legislation will then be sent back to the parliament to be voted on.
