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Category: Law

Online news aggregation and neighbouring rights for news publishers – evidence

New draft paper takes an economic perspective on the neighbouring rights debate and tries to find an explanation for this market outcome. First of all, it examines the economic impact of news aggregation platforms on news publishers. The available empirical evidence shows that news aggregators have a positive impact on news publishers’ advertising revenue. That explains why publishers are eager to distribute their content through aggregators.

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How Russian ministry of culture manipulates Paddington’s box-office and distribution in Russia?

Russian ministry of culture (MinCult), including its chief Vladimir Medinsky, made a lot to protect Russian cinematograph in Russia and now such measures entail consequences. One Russian distribution company has obtained permission to distribute cartoon movie Paddington 2 in Russia.

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Collective Rights Management: Commission refers Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Romania and Spain to the Court of Justice

The European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Romania and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU for failure to notify complete transposition of EU rules on collective management of copyright and related rights, and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use into national law as foreseen by 10 April 2016 Collective Rights Management Directive, Directive 2014/26/EU.

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Guidance on IPRED – striking a fair balance between the applicable fundamental rights in the case of the right of information

Article 8 obliges Member States to enable the competent judicial authorities to order that the infringer or certain other persons provide precise information on the origin of the infringing goods or services, the distribution channels and the identity of any third parties involved in the infringement. Any order by the competent judicial authorities to provide information issued under Article 8 should only concern information which is actually needed to identify the source and scope of the infringement.

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Third edition of USA copyright office compendium – Literary Work

The Copyright Act defines a literary work as “works, other than audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts, phonorecords, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which they are embodied.”

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To be or not to be the private copying levy … in EU?

Different points of view (de) on old issue

Angelika Niebler

Digital private copying has taken on major economic importance as a result of technological progress and the shift to the Internet and Cloud, and the existing system of private copying levies does not take sufficient account of developments in the digital age. There is currently no alternative approach in this area that would ensure appropriate remuneration for the rightholder and at the same time make private copying possible. A discussion therefore needs to be conducted in the long term on a more efficient and up-to-date approach that takes more account of technological progress.

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UK consultation on cross-border portability of online content services

Regulation 2017/1128 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cross-border portability of online content services in the internal market (the “Portability Regulation”) comes into force in the United Kingdom on 1 April (Article 11 of the Regulation). The Regulation is designed to make it easier for consumers who live in the European Union (EU) to access online content services they subscribe to (for example, television, film and music subscription services) when they are temporarily located in another Member State of the EU (Article 1.1). This could be, for example, when on holiday or travelling on business.

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Second round in dispute between DOJ and BMI over 100% or fractional licensing

The United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) appealed the judgment interpreting the consent decree between it and Broadcast Music, Inc. (“BMI”). The court ruled that the consent decree neither requires full-work licensing nor prohibits fractional licensing of BMI’s affiliates’ compositions. The dispute in this case is whether, under the consent decree, “fractional” interests BMI has acquired through its affiliates to a co-owned work are included in BMI’s repertory and may be included in the blanket license.

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