Journalists criticise proposal on the revision of copyright in Germany
A recent proposal on the future of copyright in Germany led to fierce discussions in the German media this week. The proposal was made by a group of CDU/CSU-members of the Bundestag, the federal parliament in Berlin. The so-called Fair Copyright Initiative is strongly criticized by the German association of journalists (DJV).
The proposal supported by a number of conservative MPs advocates for a simplification of the German copyright law in order to make the legal framework more suitable for the current digital era. Supporters of the Initiative believe copyright is not user friendly in the online context. The most important part of the plan is the introduction of a "fair use principle”, as a technology-neutral and flexible standard. This allows lawmakers to invent a general clause that is able to deal with all creative use of copyrighted content, instead of holding on to a system of many different specific barriers and exceptions, such as a remix exception or exceptions for education and scientific use of works, as recently introduced by the Bundestag.
DJV is against any initiative that amounts to a limitation of copyright protection in favor of a supposed public benefit. They are particularly appalled by the suggested introduction of fair use in Germany.
"The violation of intellectual property is a growing problem for writers and the entire entertainment industry," said DJV chairman Michael Konken. "The call for a 'fair use clause’ is tantamount to rewarding such abuse of content." The proposals contribute to a gradual dismantling of copyright in the digital space, according to the guild of journalists in a press release. Konken calls on the parliamentary group of CDU/CSU to reconsider their proposal and hopes these ideas will not resurface in the upcoming parliamentary debates on the revision of German copyright.
Click here to read more on the Fair Copyright Initiative.
References: Institute for Copyright and Media law (Urheberrecht.org), DJV, Netzpolitik, Heise.de
(German language only)
Comments(1)
Inessa
Fair use would not necessarily mean a remuneration free use. In fact, most limitations in Germany are followed my a remuneration of the copyright owner, an expansion of uses can effectively play out in favour ot the authors. What we really need is a secure online framework for the transfer of ownership.
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