The revision of the copyright law

Our society and our environment is constantly exposed to change due to the Internet, digitalization and globalization. This also includes the law and legislation. These must be adapted to the changing circumstances. Copyright is not exempt from this. Due to technological advances in the field of digitalisation, it has become increasingly clear that copyright law needs to be modernised. Parliament came to this conclusion on 27 September 2019 and the subsequent draft law came into force on 1 April this year. 

The revision of the copyright law led to various changes. Hosting providers are obliged to ensure that content that has been removed due to copyright infringement cannot be made available again. This regulation is mainly directed against internet piracy, which has become a growing problem due to the increasing digital availability of copyright protected content. The protection of photographs, music and videos has also been extended. To sum up, the revision strengthens the position of creative artists and provides them with more extensive protection.

The position of consumers has remained the same. A person who consumes content protected by copyright (illegal content) remains unpunished. The revision leads to increased liability of the providers of such content, as it is their task and competence to take action against illegal distribution of protected content.

This revision also ratified two international conventions which, on the one hand, eliminate the unequal treatment of creative artists and facilitate the cross-border accessibility of works for people with visual impairments.