Brussels, 26 April 2022

It’s been three years.

Three years ago, in April 2019, Europe celebrated the adoption of one of the most revolutionary internet regulations of our times, the EU Copyright Directive. These new copyright rules in Europe triggered intense debates across continents, in Australia, Canada, the USA, Latin America, South Africa and more.

In the video below, Holger Rosendal, head of legal at Danske Medier, explains what Europe’s press publisher right is all about and how it contributes to the free press in Europe.

Of course, we have learnt some lessons during these three years. We learnt that copyright should serve as a practical instrument that serves publishers’ business models. We connected our legal minds with the business to understand how publishers integrate intellectual property in their strategies, whether we are talking about visibility or exclusivity.

We learnt not to underestimate platforms’ creativity to avoid paying for content, undermining constructive cooperation between creators and distributors. Solidarity and trust will play a key role in the months to come for the industry.

Finally we learnt that a good copyright regime only works in fair and balanced markets. We passionately followed the Google vs French publishers saga before the French competition authority and we felt encouraged by the strong decisions in favour of journalism in Europe. This case-law marks a new chapter.

Three years later after the adoption of the EU Copyright Directive, the EU finds an agreement on the Digital Markets Act- Digital Services Act package, which is another building block for a fairer and safer internet.

The stakes are high for Europe’s news media sector. News Media Europe keeps pushing for fairer relations between the news media industry and tech giants, and for a Europe where press freedom is no longer at risk.

Happy IP Day!

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