Tag: digital media

A decision by a top Belgian court that Google News violates copyright rules has spilled over into the EU policy arena ahead of a long-awaited review of rules regulating the use of intellectual property.

Europeana, the EU's online library, needs more and better content if it is to be a success, EU lawmakers said yesterday (22 February), calling for more cooperation between governments and cultural institutions in contributing to the archive. 

The EU should pay more attention to the content placed in the media and take into account concentration issues and financial support for filmmakers, argues French MEP Jean-Marie Cavada. The chair of the European Parliament's newly-established media intergroup spoke to EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

"We will call member states to order if they don't respect a liberal and competitive market" was one of many tough messages Neelie Kroes, EU commissioner-designate for the 'Digital Agenda' portfolio, delivered to MEPs at her European Parliament hearing yesterday (14 January).

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.

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'.

The EU has been busy scanning books and documents to improve citizens' access to culture and history, but its efforts have been overshadowed by Google's commercial push to digitise Europe's book heritage.

European newspapers yesterday (18 May) voiced concerns that a decision by Google News to sell advertising on the site will hit publishers' revenues. But Google denied that it was planning to introduce adverts on its European service.

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.

Journalists throughout Europe, both east and west, are faced with a growing pattern of censorship and pressure including physical violence and intimidation, according to a survey by the Association of European Journalists (AEJ). What's more, the EU is failing to stand up for them, the AEJ adds.

More than 750 million euro will be made available to European film-makers over the next seven years, Commissioner Viviane Reding announced at the Berlin Film Festival on 11 February 2007.

The European Charter for Media Literacy, set up to help citizens play a full role in 21st-century European culture, democracy and social life has been endorsed by the Commission.

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.

The Commission urges member states to accelerate their changeover from traditional analogue to digital TV. A communication has found that in seven years time, less than half of the EU-25 will provide analogue TV broadcasting any more.