OREANDA-NEWS. March 27, 2015. An international seminar on “Copyright Exceptions and Limitations within the Scope of the Review of the EU Copyright Framework” takes place in Riga. The event brings together copyright experts from the EU Member States involved in the EU Council Working Party on Intellectual Property (Copyright) and representatives from the European Commission, the World Intellectual Property Organization and other organisations responsible for intellectual property issues.

One of the priorities of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union is Digital Europe, with its aim of facilitating initial discussions on the Digital Single Market strategy that will be published by the European Commission in May this year. 

The strategy will also include a review of the EU copyright framework. The publication of the corresponding legislative proposal is envisaged in autumn this year. The discussions conducted so far indicate that one of the core issues is the review of the legal framework in respect to copyright exceptions and limitations, i.e. cases when the use of copyrighted works is permitted without the consent of the right holders. These serve as a significant instrument for ensuring the balance between the interests of right holders and users.

The aim of the international seminar is to discuss copyright limitations and exceptions within the scope of the review of the EU copyright framework at expert level. The seminar will be mainly devoted to the following topics:

  • the impact of various exceptions and limitations on the functioning of the EU single market,
  • the need to adjust their scope,
  • the need to revise the existing list of exceptions and limitations,
  • the necessary level of harmonisation and the cross-border impact and mutual recognition of these limitations and exceptions among the EU Member States.

Presentations by leading European legal experts will be given on both the state of play and possible ways forward for the EU copyright framework.