Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the responses of the governments of France and Spain to EU Commission proposal 2016/0284, which outlined why they oppose the initiative based on their belief that it would undermine the principle of the territoriality of copyright.

The proposed EU regulation under 2016/0284 seeks to apply a “country of origin” principle for copyright clearance to certain online broadcast transmissions (such as catch up services). The governments of France and Spain have made known their opposition to this extension.

The Government agrees that the Commission’s proposal could undermine the principle of freedom to contract by territory, affecting both broadcasters and rights holders. On this basis, the Government opposes the proposed extension unless it protects the freedom to contract by territory robustly.