Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Rejected
Publish analysis of Article 17 implementation and equivalent international copyright approaches by year-end.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government publishes its analysis of the implementation of Article 17 of the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market, and equivalent approaches undertaken by countries outside the EU, by the end of the year. (Paragraph 19) Professional sport
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation to publish its analysis of Article 17 implementation by the end of the year, stating it is unable to do so as more time is required to fully assess its operation in EU member states due to late transposition and multi-year licensing agreements.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The Government recognises that rightsholders may face challenges when infringement takes place on NFT marketplaces. The application of measures similar to Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive in the UK is one proposal to address these and other online infringement concerns. The Directive on Copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market came into force on 17 April 2019 and member states had until 17 April 2021 to transpose the Directive into their domestic law. However, a significant number of member states did not transpose the Directive for a long time after the transposition deadline date, and two have still not done so. In those member states which have transposed the Directive, it will be some time before the impacts become clear. Collective licences for copyright are often agreed for a number of years, and limited data will be available until they are renegotiated. The Government is therefore unable to conduct this analysis at present, as more time is required to fully assess how the Article has been transposed, how it is operating in different EU member states, and how it compares to approaches taken by other countries outside the EU. As noted during the Committee’s evidence sessions, Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive refers exclusively to online content sharing service providers. The challenges of applying a similar provision to NFT platforms would be different and would require separate consideration. As set out in our response to the first recommendation, the Government will engage with NFT marketplaces to better understand the potential threats of IP infringement. This engagement will help to inform any future, potential policy approach in this area, and whether approaches similar to Article 17 of the Digital Single Market Directive could be applied to NFT marketplaces.