The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

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Publishers concerned over EU copyright

30.06.08 Barbara Casassus

European publishers are worried that new European Commission proposals to weaken copyright protection could defeat their battle against Google's programme to digitise libraries' book collections.

The concerns were raised at the Federation of European Publishers' last meeting in Warsaw earlier this month. According to the French Publishers Association (Syndicat National de l'Edition) there are fears that the European Commission's Green Paper on copyright in the knowledge economy, which is now being drawn up by the internal market directorate-general, will call for wider exemptions than those in the 2001 copyright directive.

SNE director Christine de Mazières told The Bookseller: "The biggest danger is that widening the library exemption would legalise Google's programme of digitising library books without obtaining prior permission from publishers."

Fears also are that the green paper could influence the European Parliament's forthcoming report on the application of the 2001 directive, especially in view of next year's European elections. "Parliamentarians could be tempted to take demagogic positions over the issue as part of their election campaigns," de Mazières said.

A slightly watered-down version of the initial proposals is on its way following the publishers' protests, she said. But "we are still very worried, because the text is supposed to be adopted by the commissioners in July," she added.

The SNE has written to culture minister Christine Albanel and French European Commissioner Jacques Barrot to alert them to its concerns.

An advisor to Albanel declined to comment on the proposals, saying that the government needed to have a "global vision" of the wide-ranging document and detailed discussions with Commission officials before taking a position. But "we are studying the draft and are attentive to publishers' concerns," he added.

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