To ensure that the intellectual property rights modernized by the European Commission do not lose their value, copyright holders must have tools for their quick and effective implementation in the event of violations. Digital technologies have led to an explosive growth and distribution of content, including illegal ones. The fight against piracy is essential. But it should not restrict access to knowledge, cultural wealth and technology. The benefits for society from widely available content are too obvious to use crude means of cleaning it from illegal layers. It is unwise to restrain the economy with excessive bans on the use of digital services in business. Perhaps, it is precisely in the fight against piracy, which most clearly reflects the position of the legislator and rightholders, that society evaluates the fairness of the proposed regulation and balance of interests.
The range of possible methods is very wide: from harassing Internet users to stimulating legal business services. The European Commission is developing its program of action in search of a balanced approach.
Its main feature is the reliance on voluntary measures, which should interfere less with the lives of users and the business community than legal requirements. In addition, they allow you to bypass the objections identified during the public consultation on law enforcement in 2016. At that time, users and information intermediaries categorically spoke out against imposing obligations on intermediaries to suppress the circulation of illegal content. The first were afraid of restrictions on their rights and freedoms, the second – excessive costs and unusual functions. Voluntary agreements are expected to receive less criticism and produce the desired outcome. The idea is that the standard draft agreement (memorandum) is prepared by the European Commission, taking into account the views and needs of all stakeholders. And then interested Internet intermediaries and copyright holders join it.
The first voluntary agreements appeared in 2011 (e.g., MoU on the sale of counterfeit goods via the internet). In 2013, the European Commission found this anti-piracy format encouraging. In 2016, the EC offered market participants an updated version – the Memorandum of Understanding on the online sale of counterfeit goods.
The second underlying idea of the European enforcement agenda is the active use of a new instrument for the enforcement of IP rights, the so-called “follow the money” approach. It aims to deprive those who commit violations on a commercial scale of the proceeds of their illegal activities. It is implemented again in the form of a voluntary agreement, to which services are joined, with the help of which pirates usually generate profits.
I. On July 1, 2014, the European Commission issued a Towards a renewed consensus on the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights: An EU Action Plan.
General directions of activity:
1) Educational and informational programs that raise consumer awareness about the dangers of pirated / counterfeit products (for the economy, jobs in creative industries), about the benefits of buying legal copies (safer, more reliable, etc.), incl. … by expanding content and making it easier to access. Such information increases the consumption of legal content.
2) Monitoring and mechanisms to protect the supply chain from the penetration of pirated and counterfeit products are required. The EC will undertake a series of consultations and develop recommendations that could be used by all participants in the supply chain (including online platforms, search services and other e-commerce participants).
3) Suppliers of illegal content should be deprived of the opportunity to generate income. This is the goal of the “follow the money” strategy. It is used as part of the voluntary collaboration of organizations through which pirates usually profit. The EC will develop new model Memoranda of Understanding describing measures to cut off pirates from sources of income. Suppliers of advertising services, payment services, e-commerce participants and other merchants will be able to join the memoranda.
4) Mechanisms for judicial compensation for infringement of intellectual property rights must be effective and accessible to entrepreneurs, incl. small and working from other member states.
5) The EC will consult and develop recommendations for the return of funds to buyers who find that the purchased product or service contains an illegal creative product.