Yesterday, the European Commission launched the ‘Licenses for Europe’ initiative. The Commission’s goal with this forum is clear: it wants to enable quality content and new opportunities for all Europeans in the digital era. The initiative takes a multi-stakeholder approach, hopefully resulting in short-term solutions for several key issues. 

Currently, the distribution of content in the European Union is subjected to many restrictions and complications, often due to the fragmentation of copyright legislation and enforcement. This has had a negative effect on the overall content distribution in the EU. The ‘Licenses for Europe’ initiative aims to harmonize this area through a multi-stakeholder approach. The forum gives market stakeholders the opportunity to meet and discuss the problems that have arisen regarding content distribution. Moreover, the Commission points out that the initiative is not meant to merely be a forum for discussion; the aim is to find specific solutions to the identified problems on a short term. In order to do so, the Commission named several key points the forum will work on:

• Firstly, the Internet must offer Europeans the widest possible access to the quality content which they are so eager to have;
• However, the digital universe must also give rise to new forms of contractual relations between the various stakeholders contributing to its development;
• Web entrepreneurs must also be able to draw on the single market to launch innovative services;
• And lastly, a good level of legal certainty must be guaranteed for Internet users who tap into its creative potential and for content distributors.

The initiative is not meant to be the precursor for new legislation. On the contrary, the ‘Licenses for Europe’ initiative aims at a contractual solution for the current difficulties in the European single digital market. As Michel Barnier, Member of the European Commission responsible for Internal Market and Services, put it in his speech; “As you are well aware, the legislative procedure works on a different time scale than the economy, and contractual agreements generally take effect more quickly than do European directives.” He does not rule out (additional) legislation on the longer term though. 

A new licensing system could have great benefits for the European single market, since due to segmentation it is extremely difficult to start (and continue) a service based solely on offering media content for the entire European Union. An example of a business initiative to counter this problem is Warner/Chappell Music's Pan European Digital Licensing (PEDL), which aims for a pan-European licensing system.  

On the other hand Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, points out that there might be other possibilities as well. She tells us to “keep [our] minds open: maybe in some cases licensing won't be the solution. Maybe it will be provided by technology and data, like the Global Repertoire Database or some wider initiative not yet on the table. This exercise will show us how far we can solve our issues within the current framework.” 

Hopefully, the ‘Licenses for Europe’ initiative will lead to real solutions on a short term. Digital content consumption has become the norm for many European citizens, yet this area is still clouded by legal uncertainty and vast legislative differences. We look forward to seeing the proposals resulting from this forum and will keep this post updated. To read more about the European Commission’s work on copyright, check out the links below: 

• European Commission publishes recommendations regarding private copying levies
• Commission presents new priorities for the EU Digital Agenda 2013-2014
• European Commission meets today to discuss copyright

Sources: Europa.eu