Activities of Hannes HEIDE related to 2021/2007(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on an intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience
Amendments (11)
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises the paramount importance of ‘intangible assets’ and intellectual property (IP)-intensive industries in the economic recovery and resilience of the EU in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; underlines the need to protect these by lawwith adequate and enhanced legal protection, allowing creators to benefit from their intellectual property rights (IPRs);
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines that the cultural and creative sectors were already characterised by fragile organisational structures and working practices before Covid-19 and that, among other factors, the (not well protected) IP-based revenue models contributed significantly to this situation1a; _________________ 1aIDEA Consult, Goethe-Institut, Amann S. and Heinsius J. 2021, Research for CULT Committee – Cultural and creative sectors in post-Covid-19 Europe: crisis effects and policy recommendations, European Parliament, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, Brussels
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Notes that the cultural and creative sectors are suffering the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, as protective measures have led to an existential loss of revenue for artists and cultural creators; acknowledges that artists' remuneration is often unstable and uncertain, it comes from different sources such as contracts, public grants and subsidies, which renders their income highly unpredictable, leaves them in precarious situations and weakens their resilience; points out that IPRs are an essential source of revenue for the cultural and creative sectors, providing artists and cultural creators with economic independence and social security through assured, ongoing income;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Recognises that online piracy leads to considerable economic losses to the European cultural and creative sectors which ultimately results in less investment in creative and journalistic content and sports to the detriment of cultural diversity and ultimately the European consumer;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Acknowledges that IPRs protection encourages the creative, inventive and innovative activity, hence providing for the largest number of people the benefit of such activity; notes that such activity requires the recognition of the creators, namely, the inventors, innovators and authors, and makes it possible for them to obtain a compensation for their creative endeavours; champions the right of the creator, whether it be an individual or a legal entity, to prevent others from benefiting from the exploitation of creations without consent and without compensation to the creator; reminds that failure to do so encourages counterfeiting and piracy;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Asks the Member States to ensure that companies from the cultural and creative sectors, especially content producers, are encouraged to acquire IPRs on their creations and improve their position in competitive markets; outlines that companies who own IPRs have 20 % higher revenue, improving their ability to access previously untapped highly competitive markets1 ; points out that employees also increasingly benefit from a high level of protection, as IPR-owning companies pay wages that are on average 19% higher than firms that do not own IPR2a; is therefore concerned that only approximately 9 % of SMEs own IPRs; welcomes, therefore, the IP vouchers, the IP-Scan and other initiatives of the Commission and the EUIPO to help SMEs make the most of their IP and asks the Commission to consider to launch similar initiatives for all kind of IP assets; _________________ 1 European Union Intellectual Property Office Observatory, ‘Impact of intellectual property rights intensive industries in the European Union’, IP Contribution, four EU-wide studies on the contribution of intellectual property rights (IPRs) to the EU economy, 2021. https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/web/ observatory/ip-contribution#. 2aEuropean Union Intellectual Property Office Observatory, ‘Impact of intellectual property rights intensive industries in the European Union’, IP Contribution, four EU-wide studies on the contribution of intellectual property rights (IPRs) to the EU economy, 2021. https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/we b/observatory/ip-contribution#.
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Notes that the number of national patent filings is higher than the number of European patent filings in the majority of the Member States; asks the Commission to evaluate if the cost related to the European patent filings and its protection have an impact on this preference, in particular for SMEs;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the challenges that SMEs face in acquiring IPRs and notes with concern the fragmentation of the European IP system, in particular the need for parallel litigations in multiple EU countries; calls for the process to become more streamlined and straightforward and for SMEs to be equipped with accurate information to facilitate the IPR acquisition process and to be informed of the benefits of IPRs for their commercial competitiveness; stresses the need for concrete measures to improve information and advice, which must be adequately funded and provide a low-threshold service for SMEs;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to support the full and timely transposition of the two copyright framework directives; notes that the Commission is putting special emphasis on the implementation of Article 17 of the Copyright Directive2 and strongly supports its plans for issuing implementation guidelines for Member States; emphasises that the implementation should be carried out by Member States without delay; urges Member States to quickly and completely transpose the directives into their national legislation by reflecting the agreement achieved at EU level; _________________ 2Directive (EU) 2019/790 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market and amending Directives 96/9/EC and 2001/29/EC, OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 92.
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights the ongoing problems faced by creators, artists, producers and cultural sector workers with regard to copyright and related rights; notes with great concern that they continue to be pressured into unfavourable contracts, giving up the rights to their intellectual property without receiving just remuneration for their creative work; points out, that a EUIPO study published in 2019 shows losses caused by piracy of illegal streaming of content might lead to lost jobs in the cultural and creative sectors and significant loss of public revenues and that providers of copyright- infringing IPTV subscriptions are estimated to have generated EUR 941.7 million of annual unlawful revenue in 2018; stresses that Member States must ensure that sufficient protection is put in place to prevent loss of IPRs by authors, creators, artists, producers and cultural sector workers across the EU. 5a. _________________ 5ahttps://euipo.europa.eu/tunnel- web/secure/webdav/guest/document_libra ry/observatory/documents/reports/2019_Il legal_IPTV_in_the_European_Union/201 9_Illegal_IPTV_in_the_European_Union _Full_en.pdf
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Regrets the significant use of the Internet for the distribution of pirated content and IPR-infringing services and welcomes the proposal of the Commission for a Digital Services Act on the basis of the principle that "what is illegal offline is illegal online" and to establish a robust framework to counter those IPR infringements, with an immediately take down following a notice and action procedure, to avoid reappearance of pirated content; highlights the fact that proactive measures from intermediaries would contribute enormously to the fight against piracy and that AI and blockchain could play an important role in detecting piracy and enforcing IPR; supports, therefore, the use of new technologies to combat IP infringements, and welcomes publications produced by the EUIPO Observatory;