As European economies struggle for financial footing at the opening of 2013, ministers in Brussels, London, Paris and Berlin see hope in the digital future. According to the European Commission, the digital economy in Europe is expected to grow seven times faster than overall EU GDP.
Copyright Clearance Center’s podcast series turns to Europe for another edition of “Copyright & the Continent” with Victoriano Colodrón, Senior Director, Global Relations at Copyright Clearance Center. Colodrón monitors legal developments at the European Commission and in national legislatures across the European Union for CCC and he spoke recently with CCC’s Chris Kenneally from Madrid, Spain.
From Great Britain, Colodrón takes note that Vince Cable, the government’s Business Secretary, has proposed changes to UK copyright law that are estimated will add at least 500 million British pounds ($800M) to the UK economy over the next ten year.
“The UK government believes that modernizing copyright will have a significantly beneficial effect on growth,” Colodrón explains. “The government has announced a number of changes to the copyright framework in the UK that will allegedly make it easier for users to have access, while still protecting the interests of authors and right-owners. And bottom line, this will involve extending the scope of existing exceptions and limitations to copyright. That means extending the cases where users will be able to use works without prior permission from the right-holders.”
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