Proposal for a Directive on Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society
COM(97)628

http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/intprop/intprop/1100.htm

Response from The Library Association

I. COPYRIGHT IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

The Library Association strongly supports intellectual property protection. In the digital age international and European harmonisation of intellectual property laws is essential. We firmly believe that the economic and moral interests of authors and rightholders must remain adequately protected in the new digital environment. However, the harmonisation of European copyright law must also aim at ensuring access to information and knowledge to all.

Whilst recognising the importance of finding solutions to problems that the digital technology may cause to copyright owners, we believe that the proposed Directive has gone too far and is stretching copyright protection to such an extent that it will eventually harm the competitiveness of Member States of the European Union in their efforts to develop new information products and services, especially multimedia products. If new works are to be created, the protection of existing works must go hand in hand with making them reasonably accessible. The restrictions imposed by this Directive and the absence of adequate limitations and exceptions, will make it necessary for permission to be necessary every time a work needs to be used. This is likely to be difficult as well as extremely bureaucratic and expensive. This will affect the potential for the emergence of a well-functioning and competitive market for new information products in the UK and the rest of Europe as well as access to information for all. If new works are to be created, the protection of existing works must go hand in hand with making them reasonably accessible.

By seeking to regulate the market too tightly, the Commission runs the real risk of heavily restricting access to information and information products, which would be in no-one's interests. We accept that some regulation is necessary, and that a consensus is needed on what is and is not legitimate, but we would urge the Government to ask the Commission to consider very carefully the likely consequences of the proposed legislation, which we believe could have the effect of damming the free flow of information in the 'public' domain, on which educational services and economic enterprise have always depended. It could also stifle the development of the new information products and services which the European Community has identified as a future source of economic activity and competitiveness for the Union.

Relevant in this context is Preamble A to the Parliament's Resolution on the information society, culture and education (Morgan Report A4-0325/96) of 13 March 1997: "Whereas the European model of the information society must be driven by democratic, social, cultural and educational concerns and not dominated by economic and technological interest".

The success of the Information Society in the European Union is critically dependent on effective delivery of lifelong learning to all its citizens. Libraries play a crucial role in providing and maintaining free and ready access to knowledge for all citizens to support lifelong learning efforts.

The LA, along with all the other library, information and documentation associations in Europe, fears a nightmare future in which nothing can be looked at, read, used or copied without permission or additional payment.

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