The new Directive, which came into force on 6 June 2019, must be implemented by Member States by 7 June 2021. Ahead of this deadline, the Commission has published guidance on Article 17.

The Directive aims to modernise EU copyright rules and enable consumers and creators to make the most of the digital world, where music streaming services, video on demand platforms, satellite and IPTV, news aggregators and user-uploaded content platforms have become the main gateways to access creative works and press articles. The Commission says that the new rules will stimulate the creation and dissemination of more high-value content and allow for more digital uses in core areas of society, while safeguarding freedom of expression and other fundamental rights.

The Commission goes on to say that the Directive provides for new rules to ensure fairer remuneration for creators and rightsholders, press publishers and journalists, in particular when their works are used online, and increases transparency in their relationships with online platforms. It also includes new guarantees to protect EU citizens’ freedom of expression online.

Article 17 provides that online content-sharing service providers need to obtain authorisation from rights holders for the content uploaded on their website. If no authorisation is granted, they need to take steps to avoid unauthorised uploads. The guidance provides practical measures on the main provisions of Article 17 and takes into account views gathered from stakeholders and Member States following meetings organised by the Commission to discuss cooperation between online content-sharing platforms and rights holders.

At the same time that the Directive on Copyright came into force, a new Directive on online transmissions and retransmissions of television and radio programmes (2019/789/EU) also came into force. This too must be implemented by Member States by 7 June 2021. These new rules ensure that EU citizens can access a wider choice of programmes online and across borders. The Directive makes it easier for broadcasters to make certain programmes available on their live TV or catch-up services in all Member States, while ensuring that creators are adequately paid for the use of their content. It also simplifies the distribution of more radio and TV channels by retransmission operators. To read the Commission’s press release in full and for links to the Directives and the guidance, click here.