Fight against Piracy

Piracy continues to drain the creative and cultural sectors’ growth, jobs and investments.
On average, illegal access to or transmission of protected content represented 82% of total piracy (be it sports events, films or music) in the EU in 2020 (EUIPO, 2021 – Online copyright infringement in the European Union).

Injunctions – Encourage Member States to facilitate the use of this effective tool.

Injunctions have proven their worth and remain one of the most effective and powerful tools to fight against piracy when requests to take down unauthorised content are ignored. In conformity with European law and national relevant provisions, all rights holders concerned shall be able to apply for effective injunctions, including dynamic injunctions and live injunctions, against a broad range of intermediaries and services providers as in many cases they are best placed to bring infringements to an end. Rights holders should be in a position to make the most of this effective and proportionate tool.

Notice and action – Ensure a swift and effective outcome-oriented obligation to act.

The ability of rights holders to seek expeditious action on notices submitted in real time should be strengthened. This is crucial for all types of content.

Data accuracy & availability – Enforce transparency for commercial players.

Providers of intermediary services should be obliged to collect and verify information regarding the identity of their business customers and to take action when identification provided proves to be incomplete, inaccurate or fraudulent. This would help prevent weak spots and effectively stop and deter the dissemination of infringing content.

Monitoring system – Assess the effects of the Recommendation based on market realities and input from rights holders.

Infringing services adopt evolving tactics and build on fast-changing technologies as well as various infrastructures (mirror sites, cyberlockers etc). This requires that policy-makers adopt a flexible and forward-looking approach.