In Washington, the political stalemate continues – and with the November 2012 elections approaching fast, hopes dim of opening up the legislative logjam. Meanwhile in Europe, copyright law, at least, is seeing plenty of changes, with the prospects looming of a sweeping reform of collective rights management.
Today, we turn our attention to Europe for another edition of “Copyright & the Continent” with Victoriano Colodron of Copyright Clearance Center. Based in Madrid, Spain, Colodron monitors legal developments at the European Commission and in national legislatures across the European Union. On July 11, the European Commission announced a proposal for a directive on collective management of copyright. “The directive intends to establish common governance, transparency and financial management standards” for collecting societies, Colodron tells CCC’s Christopher Kenneally.
In other recent copyright news from the Continent, notes Colodron, the European Commission has put forward a proposal for a separate directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works. In addition, in June, Google and groups representing French publishers and authors announced an end to a copyright infringement case against the online search giant and a plan to market e-books jointly.
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