La directive sur le droit d’auteur dans la société de l’information est définitivement adoptée

Publié le 09/04/2001 par Etienne Wery

Le Conseil des ministres européens du 9 avril 2001, réuni à Luxembourg, a approuvé tous les amendements proposés par le Parlement européen lors de la seconde lecture de la directive sur le droit d’auteur dans la société de l’information. Le texte est donc définitivement adopté, et doit être transposé en droit national dans les 18…

Le Conseil des ministres européens du 9 avril 2001, réuni à Luxembourg, a approuvé tous les amendements proposés par le Parlement européen lors de la seconde lecture de la directive sur le droit d’auteur dans la société de l’information.

Le texte est donc définitivement adopté, et doit être transposé en droit national dans les 18 mois de sa publication au Journal Officiel (qui aura lieu d’ici quelques semaines).

Le communiqué du Conseil des ministres explique que :

Following the Council’s approval of all the amendments proposed by the European Parliament at its second reading, the Directive on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society is deemed to have been adopted in the form of the common position thus amended, in accordance with Article 251(3) of the EC Treaty.

The Directive seeks to provide a harmonised and appropriate legal framework in the internal market for copyright and related rights in the information society. In particular, it seeks to harmonise the rights of reproduction, communication, making available to the public and distribution of works. Its adoption is also a precondition for the Community and its Member States acceding to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), concluded in December 1996.

The Directive is based on the principle of striking the right balance between the interests of rightholders (holders of copyright and related rights), on the one hand, and the interests of other parties (Internet service providers, consumers, equipment manufacturers, libraries, publishers and other beneficiaries of exceptions to rights in the Member States), on the other hand, taking into account in particular the possibilities offered by new technologies. It calls upon Member States to provide for authors exclusive rights concerning reproduction as well as communication and distribution to the public of their works.

The Directive, however, contains a list of optional exceptions to these rights. They may apply in special cases that do not conflict with a normal exploitation of their work or other subject matter and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the rightholder. These exceptions or limitations may apply inter alia to reproduction for private use and for non-commercial ends, use for the purpose of illustration for teaching and scientific research, use for the benefit of people with a disability, specific acts of reproduction made by publicly accessible libraries, recordings of broadcasts made by social institutions, etc. In principle, rightholders are entitled to fair compensation in some of these cases.

Rightholders are entitled to protect their works effectively by technological measures against any violation. However, where rightholders have not taken voluntary measures to give the beneficiaries of certain exceptions access to their protected work, Member States will have to take appropriate measures to enable users to benefit from the exceptions concerned.

Plus d’infos

1. Nous mettrons en ligne le texte final dès qu’il sera officiellement publié.

2. D’ici là, la position commune initiale du Conseil peut être consultée sur ce site, en se rappelant que le Parlement y a apporté quelques modifications (mineures) en seconde lecture.