Catching sight of a glimmer of light: Fair remuneration and the emerging distributive rationale in the reform of EU copyright law

• Author: Giulia Priora
• Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Law, Politics and Development, Sant'Anna University
• Pages: 330-343

2020

Giulia Priora

330

3

Catching sight of a glimmer of light:

Fair remuneration and the emerging distributive rationale in

the reform of EU Copyright Law

by Giulia Priora*

© 2019 Giulia Priora

Everybody may disseminate this ar ticle by electronic m eans and make it available for downloa d under the terms and

conditions of the Digital P eer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license text may be obta ined at http://nbn-resolving.

de/urn:nbn:de:0009-dppl-v3-en8.

Recommended citation: Giulia Pr iora, Catching sight of a glimmer of light: Fair renumeration and the emerging dis tributive

rationale in the reform of EU Cop yright Law 10 (2019) JIPITEC 330 para 1.

Keywords: EU copyright law, digital single market, copyright purpose, distributive rationale, fair remuneration

remuneration as fairly distributed income among

right holders. The analysis purports to unearth the

underlying distributive rationale of the new Directive

as well as identify traces of it throughout the evolu-

tion of EU copyright law. By this token, the contro-

versial CDSM Directive proves a valid opportunity to

shed new light on the objectives of EU copyright law

and assess its modernization in light of a distributive

perspective.

Abstract: In the haze of highly polarized debates on

the recently adopted EU Directive on Copyright in the

Digital Single Market (CDSM), its focus on the notion

of fair remuneration has passed over rather quietly.

Three provisions in the Directive deal specifically with

the fair distribution of revenue from online platforms

to producers and, in turn, from producers to authors.

Taking the cue from these new rules, the article in-

vestigates the restrictive interpretation of fair

A. Introduction

1

The European Union (EU) copyright legal framework

is undergoing a pivotal phase of reform, which

began in 2016 with the proposed Digital Single

Market strategy plan and is now heading towards

an enhanced harmonization and modernization of

rules within the Union.1 The Digital Single Market is

* Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Law, Politics and

Development, Sant’Anna University. Email address:

g.priora@santannapisa.it. The author wishes to thank the

organizers and participants to the Queen Mary Postgraduate

Legal Conference 2019 and, in particular, Dr. Angelos

Dimopoulos for the insightful comments on the rst draft

of this article.

1 See Commission, ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’ (2010)

(Communication) 245 nal/2.

not a recent entry into the EU’s policy discourse. The

European Commission advanced its rst observations

in 2009; the digital environment being condently

seen as a major opportunity to boost the markets

of creative content, and, in turn, the EU economy.2

In this vein, the EU legislator started feeling the

necessity to modernize the acquis communautaire to

2 Commission, ‘European Commission launches reection on

a Digital Single Market for Creative Content Online’ (2009)

(Press Release) IP/09/1563 (“[A] truly Single Market without

borders for Creative Online Content could allow retail

revenues of the creative content sector to quadruple if clear

and consumer-friendly measures are taken by industry and

public authorities.”). See also Commission, ‘A Digital Single

Market Strategy for Europe’ (2015) (Communication) 192

nal; Commission, ‘Over 400% growth for creative content

online, predicts Commission study – an opportunity for

Europe’ (2007) (Press Release) IP/07/95.