COPYRIGHT is a big issue in the digital age. The copyright debate is raging largely between the European Union (EU) and the big technology giants. EU lawmakers have been working for two years on proposed legislation aimed at updating copyright for the digital age. At the same time South Africa is working on the Copyright Ammendment Bill, currently in its third draft. voted to accept controversial changes to copyright rules that aim to make tech companies including Facebook and Google share more of their revenue
In September European parliament voted to approve amended versions of the copyright directive’s two most controversial provisions, articles 11 and 13. Article 11, forces news aggregation and search sites such as Google and Facebook to pay publishers for showing news snippets or linking to news stories on other sites. Article 13 would make platforms such as YouTube seek licences for content such as music videos, which artists say will allow them to properly negotiate better royalties. The creative industries have celebrated the vote as a win for Europe's creatives and their creative works. As the world, and it's power blocs, attempts to keep up with technology and digital transformation, coyright is one of the lynchpins in a battle for a content-led internet that relies heavily on creative inputs to generate revenue outputs.
Review the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market 2016/0280(COD), also known as the EU Copyright Directive.
