DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET WILL ALLOW EVERYONE TO ACCESS CONTENT

AMEC and FIBEP welcome the European Commission’s ambitious plans to adapt the copyright legal framework to the digital era and to harmonize rules within the EU to create a fair environment, in which everyone can access all content in the EU.We think that removing barriers will help achieve a digital single market, while our industry - which brings high added-value to various private and public EU organisations (for instance, to the European Commission itself) – is facing a very fragmented copyright market in the EU.

Who are we?

AMEC and FIBEP are two international associations representing Media Monitoring and Analysis Organisations (MMOs). We provide monitoring as well as qualitative and quantitative analytical content, including press-review, press summaries, press clipping, press and social media analysis and monitoring.

Why do we believe that the copyright reform is crucial?

Press-review and press-clipping were paper-based activities when our industry emerged more than 100 years ago when articles were identified and cut out with scissors... The digital era has completely revolutionized our services. Social media, the ATAWAD (anytime, anywhere, any device) concept, information overload, new technologies and e-reputation have created new needs and new types of uses in the media monitoring and analysis activities. Accordingly, our activities have been evolving together with the digital tools, replacing paper with web content and platforms, allowing more sophisticated management of information on all supports and better respect for the environment. However, the legal framework has not changed thus creating legal uncertainty for all interested parties. In addition, no international organization is currently regulating the digital copyright issue on a global scale.

Recommendation 1: Clarify and harmonise existing exceptions

AMEC and FIBEP wish to make it easy for businesses working in this very fragmented and complex legal environment to use and implement systems that work for commercial media monitoring and measurement firms, corporations and NGOs. They believe that exceptions and a level playing field for all stakeholders in the media market are needed, and seek to guarantee the right to information for all. That is why we recommend to:

• Make quotes, the use of extracts of works and title reproductions mandatory exceptions to copyright
• Make media analysis mandatory exceptions to copyright

Recommendation 2: Ensure an adequate remuneration of rights holders for Media Monitoring activities

Copyright regulations differ greatly from one country to another within the EU, therefore creating legal uncertainty and an unfair market with different treatments for consumers and companies. These divergences lead to highly different prices within the EU. Yet, AMEC and FIBEP members do comply with national rules and remunerate stakeholders adequately (when digital copies are sent to the final clients), while search engines, aggregators and other organisations do not pay publishers in the EU for rights to use content. That’s why we recommend to:

• Include the concept of “fair remuneration” in the updated copyright framework
• Make copyright collection schemes mandatory for all the actors of media monitoring and analysis sector
• Encourage copyright collective organisations to deliver multi-territorial licenses for media monitoring activities

Recommendation 3: Adapt copyright rules to the digital environment

We believe the EU needs to modernize its legal framework to ensure access to online content for all within the digital single market. That’s why we recommend to:

• Ensure that reference to works by means of a hyperlink must not be subject to exclusive rights
• Make text and data mining a mandatory exception to copyright and related rights when indexing is done in place and not against copied material

To download the PDF document with AMEC-FIBEP position paper on the EU Copyright review, click here:

/futurium/en/file/amecfibeppositionpaper-copyrightwithappendixpdf-1AMEC-FIBEP Position Paper (with appendix)

AMEC-FIBEP Position Paper (with appendix)