D4.2 Report on EU policy space in light of international framework

Abstract

As part of the reCreating Europe project, one strand of work focuses on how the territorial nature of copyright and related rights can hinder the realisation of the digital single market. The EU's primary interest in regulating intellectual property lies in furthering the establishment and functioning of the internal market. The international framework of treaties to a large degree shapes the actual space the EU and its Member States have to legislate copyright and neighbouring rights. The objective of this paper is to analyze the space that the international system allows the EU to take measures overcoming territoriality problems. In order to do that, we first recapitulate what those current mechanisms are. In chapter 2 we describe the position of the EU and its Member States in the field of international intellectual property, and the key features of the main treaties. For a better understanding of the landscape, in chapter 3 we map the most important grounds of competence of the EU relevant to copyright and neighbouring rights. Chapter 4 analyzes the current 'anti-territoriality' mechanisms identified in Deliverable 4.1 against the background of the international treaties. The concluding Chapter 5 summarizes the findings and elaborates issues to consider should the EU proceed with more far-reaching measures. This work ultimately feeds into the third stage of Recreating Europe's work package 4 on territoriality. The deliverable is under acceptance by the European Commission.