Authors and rights holders call to resolve fundamental issues
Dear [insert name],
As representatives of cultural and creative sectors across Europe, Creativity Works! would like to bring to your attention the Bulgarian Presidency’s harmful proposal on the Copyright Directive.
The legislative debate on the proposed Copyright Directive has been progressing relatively slowly, but for a good reason: copyright is a fundamental right protected by national constitutions and the European Charter on fundamental rights1 . It safeguards livelihoods while encouraging creativity and innovation. In turn, this safeguard spills over positively to Europe’s culture, economy, employment and innovative spirit. While there might be a sense of copyright fatigue in the air implying that it is time to “move on,” it is of paramount importance to prioritise substance over speed.
We are Creativity Works!, a leading European coalition of the cultural and creative sectors. We represent writers, screenwriters, video game developers, broadcasters, book publishers and retailers, cinema operators, sports organisers, picture agencies, music and film/TV producers, publishers and distributors. In this role, we are writing to urge Member States not to let copyright reform be torpedoed by short-sighted and short-term interests.
We respectfully call on Member States to reject recent harmful additions to the proposal that cancel out the progress made on copyright modernisation. We urge Member States to continue the substantive discussions at technical level, and reject any hasty and unbalanced agreement for a premature General Approach at the upcoming meeting on Friday 27 April.
We have highlighted our specific concerns in the annex.
We recall that copyright plays a central role for Europe’s creators, cultural sectors and the economic business partners behind every creator. This proposal is a once in a generation opportunity to strike the right balance for our cultural and creative ecosystem and certain platforms giving access to creative works. The proposal as it currently stands however, is largely unbalanced and would undermine the EU acquis. Furthermore, it appears that it would primarily benefit Internet giants to the detriment of creative and cultural communities. In short, in the latest proposed text under consideration does not strike the right balance.
Copyright provides the incentives to future creators and their business partners because it protects their creativity, innovation and financial investment. Ingenuity and financial risk-taking should be rewarded and encouraged, not punished. Europe’s creators and their business partners deserve thoughtful consideration.
We thank you for your consideration and stand ready to engage with you in view of reaching a balanced solution.
Sincerely yours, Creativity Works!
Download the full letter with the Annex here.