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Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education overwhelmingly voted in favour of Maltese MEP Therese Comodini Cachia’s Draft Opinion yesterday. The Opinion’s objective is to to inform the main responsible Committee (“Internal Market and Consumer Protection” – IMCO) about the possible implications of the legislation can have on the cultural industries.

Among other things, the report highlighted that:

  • Cultural Goods and Services are unique and therefore cannot be treated the same way as traditional goods and services
  • The principle of territoriality is absolutely essential for Europe’s copyright system
  • The proposal could potentially lead to many negative developments such as reducing consumer choice, putting cultural diversity in jeopardy as well as unifying the prices upwards.

The Statement specifically highlights e-Books as products of a nascent and sensitive market which could be shattered by an ill-advised legislation forcing small and medium-sized enterprises to sell to the whole of the EU.

You can read the full statement here.

EIBF is a member of Creativity Works, a coalition of the representatives of the European creative and cultural sectors.