SAA - Society of Audiovisual Authors

SAA welcomes the public consultation on the application of the 2004 Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), based on the European Commission report published on 22 December 2010. SAA contribution will focus on general problems which have arisen from the implementation of the Directive in relation to the digital environment and will concentrate on the challenges of the online infringements which were not taken into account at the drafting and adoption stages of the Directive.

The executive summary of the European Commission report assesses that the internet offers an unprecedented increase in opportunities to infringe IPR and that the 2004 Directive was not designed with this challenge in mind. It is therefore necessary to proceed to the revision of the Directive in order to adapt it to the new digital and online environment where most protected works are now exploited.

SAA would like to take this opportunity to welcome the creation of the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy in 2009 to serve as the central resource for gathering, monitoring and reporting information and data related to IPR infringement and as a platform for representatives from national authorities and stakeholders to exchange ideas and expertise on best practices, to develop joint enforcement strategies and to make recommendations to policy-makers. SAA looks forward to the publication of a report on the work delivered so far and to the European Commission’s proposals to adjust the Observatory’s means in line with the important challenges it is facing.

In this context, SAA is of the opinion that clarifications to the 2004 Directive are needed to avoid ambiguities and adapt the Directive to the new challenges posed in particular by today’s digital environment. SAA’s contribution will therefore focus on the role of intermediaries and the balance between the right of information and privacy law.