The Copyright Directive is a law passed by the European Union to comply with the WIPO treaty on copyright. It defines copyright, establishes rights for rightholders, and discusses exceptions to copyright law. The directive also prohibits the sale of devices designed to infringe copyright and the use of techniques to circumvent technological protections against copyright infringement. However, some aspects of the directive have proved controversial, particularly in relation to fair use.
The Copyright Directive is a legislative action taken by the European Union to compel member countries to comply with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty on copyright, passed to address copyright concerns in relation to the Internet and other technologies. The directive was passed in 2001 and a number of member countries had difficulties complying with the directive, in some cases leading to lawsuits after the implementation deadline. This piece of legislation was one among a series of similar pieces of legislation passed around the world in the late 1990s and early 2000s to change the scope of copyright law in response to newly developed technology.
Formally known as Directive 2001/29/EC on the harmonization of copyright and related rights in the information society, the Copyright Directive includes clauses that define copyright, establish rights for rightholders of copyright and discuss exceptions to copyright law to allow for fair use and other situations. One notable exception was a law that prohibited people from prosecuting the transmission of copyrighted material, allowing Internet service providers to avoid prosecution when their users violate copyright law and transmit the infringing material. on the Internet.
This European Union directive also discusses the use of technology to prevent or limit copyright infringement, by prohibiting the sale of devices designed to infringe copyright or to assist people in infringing on copyright protections. It also prohibits the use of techniques to circumvent technological protections against copyright infringement, such as the copy protection technology used on some compact discs and digital videodiscs. These provisions of the Copyright Directive protected technology designed to enforce copyright and restricted the production, distribution and use of technology developed for infringement purposes.
Some aspects of the Copyright Directive have proved highly controversial. Fair use activists feared that the limitations were ill-defined, potentially creating situations where a person who legally uses copyrighted material could be penalized for doing so. Critics have also expressed concern about the technology limitations in the directive and have encouraged individual EU member countries to implement the directive with care. This has led to significant delays when member countries have attempted to address these issues.
Public interest and fair use awareness in the 2000s led to the formation of a number of organizations working to distribute information about how copyright law works and to challenge laws that appear to violate fair use and other rights . These organizations are sometimes involved in cases which question aspects of the Copyright Directive.
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