Public consultation on the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC (Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market)—Consultation Paper No. 1

Consultation Paper No. 1: Articles 13-17.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation is seeking the views of stakeholders and interested parties on the transposition of EU Directive 2019/790 into Irish law.

Directive 2019/790 (hereinafter the “Copyright Directive”) was published by the European Commission in September 2016 as part of a series of legislative proposals under the Digital Single Market strategy. The Directive provides a framework for the creation of modern European copyright legislation to take account of technological developments in the digital age while continuing to ensure that creators are remunerated for their creative efforts.

The Directive contains a number of provisions that will further harmonise copyright exceptions in the areas of research, education and cultural preservation, provide protection for press publishers for the online use of their content and measures to address the “value gap” whereby rightholders can derive greater economic value for the use of their content online.

The deadline for transposition of the Directive into national legislation is 7 June 2021.

The Department intends to publish a series of public consultations regarding the transposition into Irish law of the Copyright Directive. The first consultation is seeking input on the transposition of articles 13 to 17 of the Directive. 

  • Article 13 provides for a negotiation mechanism to support access to and availability of audiovisual works on video-on-demand platforms.
  • Article 14 clarifies that any material resulting from copying a works of visual art in the public domain will not be subject to copyright, unless that resulting material is the author’s own intellectual creation.
  • Article 15 establishes a neighbouring press publishers’ right, which will allow press publishers to seek remuneration for the online exploitation of their works by news aggregators.
  • Article 16 is an optional provision that would provide that a transfer of license from an author to a publisher would be a sufficient legal basis for the publisher to claim a share of the compensation arising from the use of a work under an exception or limitation.
  • Article 17 is intended to address the issue of the ‘value gap’ in the digital market, whereby rightsholders, such as musicians, are receiving less remuneration despite the increased use of their works.

Further consultation papers will issue at a later date seeking input on the transposition of the other areas covered by the Directive, namely; exceptions and limitations (articles 3-7), out-of-commerce works and extended collective licensing (articles 8-12), and fair remuneration (articles 18-23).

Respondents are requested to send their submissions in writing (clearly identifying the consultation paper number) and, where possible, by email to copyright@dbei.gov.ie.

Submissions to this consultation may be posted to: 

Copyright Directive Consultation

Consultation Paper No. 1

Copyright Section

Intellectual Property Unit

Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation

23 Kildare Street

Dublin 2

D02 TD30

The closing date for submissions to this consultation is 5pm on Wednesday, 23 October2019. Any questions regarding the consultation can be emailed to copyright@dbei.gov.ie.

Published by Innovation and Investment Division

Topics: Intellectual Property