EU commish mulls digital rights limits
Commissioner Bolkestein stresses 'balanced position'
Speaking at a meeting of the EU Parliament's legal affairs committee Thursday, commissioner Frits Bolkestein voiced his concern that current proposals "strongly favor the interests of one group of interested parties, namely the rights holders, over those of other interested groups."
Bolkestein stressed the need to establish a "balanced position" in the law, which would represent the interests not only of rights holders but also of "consumers, the educational and academic communities and society at large."
But as Thomas Tindemans, a Brussels-based media lawyer at White and Case, told Daily Variety, "The issue has been made even more difficult by the fact that all sides claim to represent the consumer."
Intense lobbying
Lobbying on this directive has been particularly intense. The key issue at stake is establishing guidelines for the distribution of digitized material.
Equipment manufacturers, pubcasters and telcos in particular argue against giving rightsholders exclusive control over how material is distributed via the Internet and other digital media.
The legal affairs committee will decide on changes to the current draft text Monday. A final vote will then be taken at a session of the European Parliament in mid-February.
The law will need to be approved by a majority of the body's 626 members.
