The Commission is launching a consultation exercise on what such legislation might consist of. It has published a Communication on the issues which also argues that interoperability and acceptance by all stakeholders, including consumers, of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems is a pre-condition for their emergence.
The term "management of rights" refers to the means by which copyright and related rights are marketed. Rights management can be carried out individually by the rightholder, or collectively by a collecting society acting as a trustee.
In its Communication, the Commission notes that the Internal Market has largely become the framework for managing and using copyright and related rights: the digital environment, by definition, makes it possible to exploit rights across borders but, at the same time, licensing for analogue exploitation is also increasingly taking on a cross-border dimension.
The Commission sees a need for a rights management system that can adapt to new developments, such as the increasing demand for Community-wide licences for the use of certain rights. It must also ensure that the necessary protection and remuneration of authors and performers are balanced against the demands of commercial users.
On the basis of these needs and of the results of the consultation process which commenced in 1995, the Commission has come to four main conclusions:
An Internal Market for collective rights management will be more firmly established if a legislative framework on the governance of collecting societies is implemented at Community level. Such a framework would address the issues surrounding the establishment and status of collecting societies, the relationship they have with rightholders and commercial users, and lastly, their external supervision.
There is no need, for the moment, to take any action at Community level with regard to individual rights management.
The advent of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems has generated high expectations, but a necessary pre-condition for their development is their interoperability and acceptance by all stakeholders, including consumers.
With regard to the increasing demand for Community-wide licensing for the exploitation of certain rights, the Commission's Communication describes several options for improving the situation. In principle, the response to this demand should be market-led, but it could be supported by common rules on collective rights management and on good governance of collecting societies.