Digital technologies, widespread broadband connections and reliance on the internet in daily life have transformed the way creative content is produced, distributed and used. The internet has become a key distribution channel. Business models unheard of only 15 years ago and new economic players like online platforms have become well established and today online services are a mainstream channel for consumers to enjoy creative content, alongside physical formats like books and DVDs. Making copies of content digitally is easy and quick. People often expect access to digital content on multiple devices, anytime and anywhere in the single market. When this does not happen, they find it hard to understand why. EU copyright rules need to be adapted so that all market players and citizens can seize the opportunities of this new environment. A more European framework is needed to overcome fragmentation and frictions within a functioning single market. Copyright rewards creativity and investment in creative content. A copyright framework that offers a high level of protection is the basis of the global competitiveness of Europe’s creative industries. Along with the internal market principles of free movement of goods and services, EU competition rules, and our media and cultural policies, copyright is an integral part of the set of rules which govern the circulation of creative content across the EU. The interaction between copyright and these other policy areas determines how value is generated from the production and dissemination of works and how it is shared among market participants.
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