The Upcoming EU Copyright Review: A Central-Eastern European Perspective

Abstract

In 2013, the European Commission initiated a public consultation on the EU copyright review. Since the participation of the Central Eastern European (CEE) countries in the consultation was rather weak, it is questionable whether the results of the consultation and a subsequently leaked draft Impact Assessment sufficiently reflect the interests of the CEE countries. This article examines the relevance of the Impact Assessment from the perspective of three selected CEE countries, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. It concludes, first, that some problems identified in the draft Impact Assessment are of little practical relevance in the focus countries. Second, it identifies copyright issues that are important in the selected CEE countries, such as territorial segmentation of online markets, exceptions for libraries, private copy levies, remuneration of authors and performers, and copyright enforcement online. It further suggests some considerations to be taken into account when searching for solutions that would accommodate the interests of the region.