New EU copyright legislation has been adopted by the European Council. The new Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (2016/0280) is the first comprehensive harmonisation of copyright laws at the EU-level for nearly twenty years. The Directive seeks to bring better balance in the relationships between authors, publishers and online platforms. There has been much controversy around the Directive as the various stakeholders assess their perceived gains and losses. This briefing reviews the key objectives of the new legislation and outlines the provisions which seek to achieve the rebalancing of the digital copyright marketplace in the EU.
