Kroes dissatisfied with current European copyright system

Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, expressed criticism on the current European copyright system last weekend. In her speech during the Forum d'Avignon, a conference on culture, economy and media, Kroes said to be dissatisfied with the current legal system.

According to Kroes, the current European copyright system is not succeeding in its objectives. Copyright should be seen as a tool to recognize and reward artists, but is currently often seen as a tool to punish and to withhold material. It is always difficult to enforce copyright law, it is an ongoing battle that will cost millions of dollars with little signs of victory, said Kroes.

Kroes said she was shocked when she heard how many artists - writers, painters, musicians, photographers - live on the paltry sum of one thousand Euros per month, which is less than the minimum wage. According to Kroes, that’s pretty devastating, for the artists themselves and for Europe as a whole, because the creative sector is what we’re good at in Europe, something that could really help us grow in the future, economically and culturally.

To improve the current copyright system Kroes proposes a framework that enables innovation and puts artists first. A system that allows new ideas, both for distribution and for production. To achieve this we must make use of new technologies and must look at the legal framework, said Kroes. Many potential ideas for new systems of recognition and reward are now cut off by rigid and pre-digital laws. For example, e-books don’t benefit from the same reduced VAT rates as regular books, which I find pretty hard to explain, said Kroes.

Finally, Kroes added that the life of an artist itself is difficult enough and that the crisis has made it more difficult. However to Kroes it’s clear that we should go back to the basics in Europe by placing artists at the centre, not only central to the copyright system, but also central to our culture.

The entire speech of Neelie Kroes can be read here.

By: Karen Groen