IMSLP Forums

Hello,

Does anyone know how the newly voted for Copyright Directive could change the way IMSLP works? I'm not a lawyer and I have not read the Directive, but there is a lot of criticism about it, specifically Article 11 (which probably doesn't apply to IMSLP) and Article 13 (which could possibly impose automated filtering and "making favours" of bogus copyright claims to IMSLP). Am I the only one worried?

One week ago, a pianist recorded himself playing Bach in his living room and proceeded to upload the video... the automated filtering system of the upload platform said it matched 43 seconds of a copyrighted performance, thus this one has to be rejected! I suppose such cases will be even more usual now.

BTW, I don't agree with pianists playing Bach on the piano (the clavichord or the harpsichord are the instruments for Bach), but we shall defend their right to play Bach's works on the piano and upload the performances.

Thanks in advance!

The directive does not actually exist yet. So far, the position of the EU parliament has been only approved. Article 13 has been substantially amended with respect to the initial proposal. I haven't been able to read the official text, however summaries provided by newspapers appear to exclude from the scope of Article 13 collaborative platforms like Wikipedia as well as "small and micro platforms or aggregators".

The position of the EU parliament is just a first step. Then, negotiations about the final text of the directive begin between the EU Parliament, the EU Commission, and the EU Council. This often introduces modifications and degrees of freedom of member states to adopt certain provisions.

So, it is probably premature to evaluate the impact of the future directive on IMSLP, taking also into account that IMSLP is not based in the EU. Anyway, the modifications made to Article 13 and reported by newspapers, if confirmed, sound interesting.

Max

Choralia wrote:I haven't been able to read the official text

The original text as well as the amended text of Article 13 are now available here, page 56 to 59.

This section seems especially interesting:

As of [date of entry into force of this directive], the Commission and the Member States shall organise dialogues between stakeholders to harmonise and to define best practices and issue guidance to ensure the functioning of licensing agreements and on cooperation between online content sharing service providers and right holders for the use of their works or other subject matter within the meaning of this Directive. When defining best practices, special account shall be taken of fundamental rights, the use of exceptions and limitations as well as ensuring that the burden on SMEs remains appropriate and that automated blocking of content is avoided.

Max