[FYI] Common position adopted on Copyright Directive

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

http://www.patent.gov.uk/dpolicy/directive.html

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Common position adopted on Copyright Directive

At the Internal Market Council of the EU on 28 September 2000,
Community Member States formally adopted a common position on the
proposed Directive on copyright and related rights in the information
society. The common position will now be considered by the European
Parliament under the co-decision procedure.

The text of the common position is available as a downloadable (pdf)
file in the Council’s Public Register of Documents accessed via:
http://register.consilium.eu.int/. Clicking on the ‘EN’ button on
this Council web site, and then on the ‘public register’ button will
lead to a search enquiry page. Entering the document number (9512/00)
in the first box and clicking on ‘search’ will give access to the pdf
file.

The copyright Directive is of key importance to the Internet and e-
commerce since it harmonises the core rights under copyright in this
context. It will also enable the EU and its Member States to ratify
the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) treaties
which update and strengthen international standards of copyright
protection.

The UK Government is urging all concerned to support the delicate
balance of the common position on the copyright Directive in the
remaining stages of negotiations. Discussions have been difficult on
a complex and controversial proposal, but the Government believes the
common position has the necessary balance and is workable. The
compromise package achieved unanimous political agreement (Luxembourg
abstaining) in EU Council and has been welcomed by the European
Commission - see the Commission’s ‘news’ page at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/intprop/.

[...]

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See

http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/00/st09/09512en0.pdf


"A rigorous, effective system for the protection of copyright and
related rights is one of the main ways of ensuring that European
cultural creativity and production receive the necessary resources
and of safeguarding the independence and dignity of artistic creators
and performers."