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OPEN LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
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Dear MEP
This letter is to support the report "EU Perspectives on Copyrights" (written by Medina Ortega, MEP) that has been adopted by the Legal Affairs committee in January 2009. We, European publishers of big, small and medium-sized companies, who promote the access to a large number of literary works in several languages, not only for the general public but also for small niches of readers, need a well-balanced legislation in which we can fulfill our aims.
This is particularly true in these rough times, which will be less hard as we gain more certainties, if we want to continue contributing to European cultural diversity. We would appreciate if we could meet you and explain our opinion about this report more in depth. 1. Publishing industry means a significant contribution to the European economy, and this time of worldwide economic crisis is not the right moment to put the publishing sector at the risk of more uncertainty. 2. The directive is based on the international "three-step test" rule, included in the Berne Convention, that foresees that an exception to copyright can not hinder "the normal exploitation of a work". It is of utmost importance that this rule is still observed in the directive, so that it can maintain the incentive to publish and create works in Europe. 3. Any revision to the directive or the exception system implies the risk of affecting the fine balance achieved up to the present. Moreover, we are still working with a great variety of different users reach customized solutions. Reviewing Directive 2001/29 on copyright in the Information Society would upset these voluntary negotiations, which we consider the best path to follow. 4. An example of this work we are developing is that the Federation of European Publishers, together with other participants, including libraries and RROs, are taking part in a project, with EU funds, to facilitate the identification of copyright information in books. This project, named Arrow, will provide solutions to the orphan works' problem and will facilitate licenses of works no longer for sale. This kind of initiatives, in which writers, publishers and librarians work together, raise confidence and result in pragmatic and useful solutions more effective than reviewing existing legislation. |