EU Parliament passes Copyright Directive acknowledging rights of creators to proportionate remuneration

4 April, 2019

The Australian Writers’ Guild and Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society (AWGACS) commend the European Parliament on their vote last week to adopt the EU Copyright Directive, a move that will see the rights of authors, artists and composers to receive proportionate remuneration for the use of their work defined under European copyright law.
 
The vote comes after three years of intense debate and campaigning by creators to bring existing laws in line with today’s digital landscape, and in recognising a creators right to be fairly rewarded is intended to create a more balanced negotiating relationship between creators and big tech companies (such as YouTube and Google) who host and distribute their work online.
 
In particular, the directive: 
·Establishes an essential principle law of the rights of creators to proportionate remuneration for their work, and
·Clarifies that user generated content platforms (such as YouTube) are subject to copyright laws and therefore must be licensed by creators.
 
The Guild and AWGACS applaud the decision by the EU to acknowledge the rights of screenwriters and creators, who have often lacked the negotiating power to achieve an equitable share in the success of their work, to be fairly remunerated and to control the future use of their IP, and the message this sends to governments worldwide on the importance of respecting and acknowledging the rights of creators through copyright law.
 
For more information on the EU Copyright Directive and its implications for writers, read CISAC Director General Gadi Oron’s comments here.