Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-26-Speech-4-074"
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"en.20091126.4.4-074"2
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"Madam President, the potential benefits and possibilities which the Google Books Project offers consumers, researchers and the majority of publishers and authors for the preservation of cultural heritage is, really, beyond dispute. We must not, however, treat the legal consequences lightly, and it is on these that I, as a representative of the Committee on Legal Affairs, would like to concentrate.
Firstly, the conditions which need to be met are, of course, clear. I am thinking of the need to respect copyright and of the establishment of a suitable system for paying royalties to authors. Unfortunately, the Google Project is based on an Anglo-Saxon legal system and on North American market realities which are completely inadequate for the European Union system. In connection with this, Google’s activity in the European Union encounters obstacles, not only of a legal nature, but also of an ethical nature. Google assumes that a copyright owner who does not want to be part of an agreement is obliged to inform Google of this. This is not, of course, in accord with our law, which assumes that before scanning a book and making the scan available, it is necessary to obtain the author’s consent and to pay the appropriate fee.
Another matter relates to what are known as ‘orphan books’, in other words, works for which it has not been possible to identify the copyright owner. In the majority of the Member States, collecting societies represent the interests of known copyright owners, and also of currently unidentified copyright owners, for example, by securing income from sales for a certain period in case the copyright holder is found in the future.
I would also like to point out the need to adapt European legal provisions in the area of copyright to the challenges of the digital era. At the same time, I fully support the opinion of Mrs Reding and Mr McCreevy, and also what was said today by Mr Kallas, that digitisation of works protected by copyright must fully respect the principle of copyright and the fair remuneration of authors, so that they can benefit from access of the wider European public to their works to the greatest degree. For we must not, of course, squander this opportunity in Europe."@en1
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