Tag: Digital content

Talks in Brussels to streamline so-called private copying levies yesterday (7 January) reached a standstill when collecting societies and global ICT companies could not agree on bringing the levies up to speed with the demands of digital reproduction.

The flow of digital content is hampered by national borders and their laws, an EU report published last week shows, leading the European Commission to argue that better rules on consumer access and copyright are needed.

Thousands of EU publications were made available to the public for free last week (16 October) following the launch in Frankfurt of a new digital library, the 'EU Bookshop'.

Amid massive interest and millions of hits, the EU's Internet library 'Europeana' collapsed shortly after launch yesterday (20 November). The European Commission said it plans to reactivate the site in mid-December.

Europe's economy is beginning to reap the benefits of ever-more interlinked and interoperable online technologies, but many obstacles remain to be overcome, experts have told the Commission.

A number of major industry players, including broadcasters, telecom operators and holders of copyrights, signed a Commission-inspired charter for promoting the online distribution of films.

BEUC, the European consumers' organisation, has started a new campaign to combat overly restrictive digital rights management and terms of use with digital content. In an interview with EurActiv, the organisation's senior legal advisor explains the issue.

Parliament has proposed only minor changes to the Television without Frontiers (TVWF) directive, in a report on promoting works made in Europe and by independent producers.

The Commission plans to launch, on June 1, 2005, what Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and the Media, has branded as “the first-ever Lisbon Strategy realistic action plan”. The plan, labelled “i2010”, sets out to boost at the same time the information and communication technology (ICT) and content industries, as well as the industry take-up of innovation.

eEurope was launched in December 1999 to ensure the EU fully benefits from the changes the Information Society is bringing. eEurope's key objectives are to bringing every citizen, home and school, every business and administration, into the digital age and online. It plans to create a digitally literate Europe, supported by an entrepreneurial culture ready to finance and develop new ideas. eEurope also wants to ensure the whole process is socially inclusive, builds consumer trust and contributes to social cohesion.