Title: The new EU Directive 2014/26 as a catalyst for film and digital content innovation in Europe

Authors: Loreto Corredoira

Addresses: Facultad de Ciencias de la Información, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Av. Complutense, s/n. Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, España

Abstract: The present paper analyses various conditions of the digital content market, such as barriers to competition and bottlenecks to intellectual property (IP) rights generation and management, as well as the collective copyright management system. The paper will discuss the need to modernise Spanish IP law, improve the transparency of how 'collecting societies' operate and liberalise processes for licensing and transferring IP to allow for new types of contracts. It will also explore how regulatory reform en route to a digital single market stands to give more freedom to copyright holders and producers, and how Directive 2014/26 is likely to affect music and other paid content-sectors such as film and video. It argues that these reforms will open new business opportunities in entertainment, as well as offer solid alternatives to piracy, which may help revitalise the digital content industry in Europe.

Keywords: EU copyright directives; collective societies; IP laws; multiterritorial licences; online services; digial single market; content distribution; European Union; EU Directive 2014/26; digital music; film; video; digital content; innovation; intellectual property rights; IPR; Spain; regulatory reform; piracy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2015.071342

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2015 Vol.8 No.1/2, pp.21 - 40

Received: 15 Dec 2014
Accepted: 03 Mar 2015
Published online: 21 Aug 2015 *

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