EIBF WELCOMES COMMISSION’S DRAFT REGULATION ON GEO-BLOCKING

The European & International Booksellers Federation- EIBF – has noted with interest the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on geo-blocking made public today.

We welcome the fact that laws of Member States will be applied with respect to sales of books.

We note that the Commission plans to review the possible inclusion of electronically supplied services protected by copyright including e-books two years after the entry into force of the regulation.  EIBF is very happy to co-operate with the European Commission, and provide decision-makers with the information necessary to properly assess the situation for the wellbeing of the bookselling industry and European consumers.

Booksellers have embraced the digital revolution and a growing number of booksellers are providing their customers with an e-book offer, on their home market, and increasingly across borders.  In spite of the fact that the market is indeed extremely limited – only 1% of European readers want to have access to e-books across borders, according to a recent European Barometer- major players on the e-book market are keen to be present on as many markets as possible, for strategic marketing reasons.

While the larger and more mature language markets in the European Union benefit from an organized  and experienced physical and digital distribution system, a significant number of markets are structurally still working hard at  organizing their e-distribution and need more time to build up a performing technical offer.

In addition, some crucial infrastructural issues, like access to fast broadband in European homes and the implementation of a European online debit card system for the benefit of retailers and consumers, still have to be addressed.

EIBF welcomes the opportunity of contributing to this process.

For further information please contact EIBF Director, Fran Dubruille
+32 475 40 32 34 or fran@europeanbooksellers.eu